Child of the Earth
by Rainfelt aka Phoe-chan
Summary: Traveling all 12 years of his life, Naruto has grown up close to nature and far from society. But when his sensei informs him that they're returning to his birth town, Konohagakure, he finds out that adjusting to the changes isn’t going to be easy.
1. Prologue

**AN:** I know; I know. You don't have to tell me. But this idea stayed in my head all night last night so if I didn't write it down I was going to drive myself crazy. Besides, even if the idea is hardly original, I really wanted to take a shot at one of those "Naruto leaves and returns" stories. Heh. I have no idea on pairings yet or if there will be any.

**Disclaimer:** I own an empty stomach.

* * *

_Child of the Earth_

_Prologue_

* * *

"Naruto. Get down here and put your shoes back on."

A blonde head poked out of the canopy above the path before disappearing momentarily. A few seconds later the body that was attached to the blonde head appeared on the dirt road, hopping on one foot in an attempt to put his _geta_ back on. His guardian half-turned to see his student struggling before he rolled his eyes and returned to his writings.

"Ero-sennin…! Why do I have to wear shoes? You don't normally make me wear them!" Naruto whined as he finally secured his _geta_ on his feet and began to catch up with his guardian. The man's left eyebrow twitched as he refrained from yelling.

"Because we're heading back to an important place. You have to be civil."

"But you're never civil!"

"…Shut up."

Naruto pouted and folded his arms across his chest, glaring at the road. He didn't like this one bit. Why go back to a place he didn't even remember? Wasn't he kicked out or something? Ero-sennin had said something about him having to leave the village for important reasons but he never really told why. Huffing, he put his hands behind his head and stared up at the sky, watching birds pass overhead. A smile stretched across his face as the wind picked up and ruffled his untamed hair.

Jiraiya paused to look at the boy, a small smile working on this his aging face. He knew the boy loved it out here but he needed to be reintegrated into society so he could live a normal life. Or at least try to. Shaking his head, he looked up to see the walls of Konohagakure ahead and put away his pen and paper. He needed some inspiration before continuing anyway.

Naruto sniffed the air, catching wind of something domesticated. Blinking, he looked back down and saw the gates of Konoha ahead. Blue eyes widened as he stared at the high walls in awe. This was his home? He was going to be a ninja… The boy shivered in delight before turning to his sensei. "Ano sa, ano sa! That's it, right?"

Jiraiya nodded, grunting, but patted the boy on his head.

Naruto smiled. Maybe this would be better than he thought.

* * *

Sandaime Hokage sat in his office smoking leisurely on his pipe. He had a feeling that today was going to be a special day, but he had no idea why. Pondering on this, he exhaled a slow puff of smoke, deep in thought. However, he was startled out of his contemplation when a poof sounded and a cloud of smoke appeared on his desk. He arched a brow as the smoke cleared and an orange frog sat on his paperwork.

"Yo, Pops." The frog greeted, waving. "I got a message for ya. Jiraiya says that he's returning with the boy today to enroll him as a proper ninja. He said something about not needing academy training or what'cha'ma'callit and he wants to place the boy into a team. He said you'd know what he was talking about." With a poof the toad was gone.

Sarutobi listened to the toad's message, taking it in with earnest. So, Jiraiya and the boy were returning. He most certainly hoped it was safe and he was ready to be put back into the village. He also hoped the village was ready for him. He paused. The genin were going to be meeting today. He needed to get the boy on a team as soon as possible. Standing up, he alerted his assistant that he would be gone for a short while and made his way to the academy.

* * *

Iruka sat down at his desk whiledesperately trying to figure out how to make this work. The students were supposed to be divided into teams of three. But there was one problem. There weretwenty-six students. That would leave one team of two. And that wouldn't work. He only had a few hours left until the kids arrived and he still hadn't figured everything out. Even the jounin instructors didn't know the students they were getting. He'd stressed three days over this and he could swear he was getting grey hair.

"Iruka."

The chuunin teacher jumped, looking up at the man who spoke his name. Sandaime smiled down at him, removing his pipe from his lips. "Jumpy today?"

"Ah, Hokage-sama. Please forgive me. I'm just… tired." Iruka began, rubbing his temples.

Sandaime nodded. "I hate to do this to you, Iruka, but I need your help."

Immediately the younger man looked up, his curiosity perked. "What is it, Hokage-sama?"

"I have a student who will be showing up today and he needs to be placed on a three-man team like the new graduates. Is there any way possible that it can be done?"

Iruka's eyes lit up like lights on Christmas tree. "Hokage-sama, you just saved my day."

* * *

The guards at the gates of Konoha straightened up when two figures came into view. One was a large man, over six feet in height. His attire was strange in being that he wore red and white traditional robes over an olive uniform. A large scroll was strapped to his back and spiky white hair strutted out in every direction on his head. The most distinguishing feature was the two red lines going down his face.

The other was a short blond boy with whiskers on his cheeks and wide blue eyes. He wore a pair of olive-green pants with the legs rolled up to mid-calf. A matching loose jacket fluttered about the boy, the sleeves frayed at the ends from use and the front opened to give him more freedom. Underneath was a plain black t-shirt that revealed how small the boy was.

Both of them wore traditional _geta_ sandals that quirked a brow or two. But the older of the two guards immediately straightened up. "Jiraiya-sama!"

Jiraiya looked up arching a brow; finally glad to get some recognition and respect. "Ero-sennin" was becoming one of his least favourite words in the world. That, and "restraining order".

"Welcome back, Jiraiya-sama. It's been a long time since you've been here." Jiraiya nodded, replying with a statement about business with the Hokage. With that both guards stood straight as the man entered into the village.Naruto was running around Jiraiya in circles, giddy with the idea of being in such a huge place and not moving out of it within a few days. And it was beautiful and surrounded with forests and wildlife! He loved it already.

"Ne! Ero-sennin! When do I start training again?" Naruto inquired, skidding to a stop to look up at his instructor.

Jiraiya mumbled something like "hyperactive brat" before sighing and giving Naruto a pointed look. "When you calm down and give me some respect."

Naruto pouted and turned around, only to be faced by an old man with a strange hat and robes on smoking a pipe. "Um, who are you?"

The man smiled down at the boy. "Uzumaki Naruto, I'm Saindaime Hokage."

The blue-eyed boy stared up at the man. "You're the Hokage! Wow!" Immediately he started an onslaught of questions that went a mile a minute. Sarutobi smiled as he watched the animated boy wave his hands with his questions as if they would make more sense that way.

Jiraiya grabbed the boy by the back of his jacket and gave him a good jerk. "Stop that."

The boy squirmed for a moment before settling down. Immediately he sauntered up to a bridge and began to watch the fish in the river below. Satisfied that Naruto would behave for a few minutes Jiraiya turned to Sandaime and began to speak.

"I take it you got my message?"

"Yes, I did. Do you really think he's ready to be back? What about the kyuubi?"

"Well, he's done quite well at mastering his own chakra. The kyuubi's remained relatively dormant. The only signs of himI've seenare Naruto's enhanced senses. The boy can see, smell, and hear anything that he wants. You won't believe how many times he's told me I stink even after I've had a shower."

The Hokage smiled, glancing at the boy for a moment before turning back. "I've arranged for a place for you two to stay while you're here. However, the team announcements are to be made quite shortly. Naruto will need to be present."

"We just make it back in time, huh?"

"Yes. But it's quite all right. Iruka managed to work everything out. Anyway, we should be heading down there right now so Naruto can be acquainted with the students."

Jiraiya hesitated. "There is one thing. Naruto's very used to nature and being out in the wilderness, away from crowds. I honestly don't know how he's going to do being around a lot of people daily. He can be rather naïve."

Sandaime took another puff of his pipe. "Then we'll just see. I believe he'll do fine. Unless you've corrupted the boy with your ways, Jiraiya."

The sannin rolled his eyes. "Hardly. The brat lectures me daily about my morals."

"Or lack there of."

"Very funny. But let's get this over with. I'm tired and I want a nap."

"I'm sure your nap will be taking place near the hot springs."

"Eheheh…" Jiraiya scratched the back of his head as he walked up to Naruto who was still being entertained by the fish. "Naruto. Are you ready to meet the fellow students?"

Immediately the boy's attention was drawn back up to the two older men. "Yeah!"

* * *

Iruka watched the students come in and sit down talking amongst themselves. He smiled and observed them having finished with his troublesome work from earlier. He hoped the Hokage would arrive soon with the new student. He wanted to go ahead and get this finished. He'd only informed the jounins of their teams an hour ago.

Sasuke sat on the end of a row with his hands clasped together, elbows braced on the desktop, and his normal cold expression on his face. He just wanted to start the training. Sakura was arguing with Ino over who had arrived first. Other students were chatting with each other. Everyone was there. All twenty-six graduates.

Just as Iruka was getting antsy a bright yellow-blond head poked into the room. "Ne! Is this it?"

The boy seemed to be talking to someone down the hall. Iruka craned his neck slightly before he saw the Hokage walk up with another man behind the blond boy. "This is it, Naruto."

Ah, Naruto. That must be the new boy.

Naruto's eyes widened with delight at seeing all the students in the room. They were all his age! He was rarely ever around anyone his age. A few heads had turned and were watching the unfamiliar boy who stood beside the Hokage and another man (who, for the record, was very, very weird-looking).

"Naruto." The boy looked up to Jiraiya before the man continued. "I've got a few things to finish with the Hokage so you stay here. Be good and, for the love of God, do not bring any 'pets' home."

Naruto pouted a bit but nodded nonetheless, waving as the two men left. "OK! Bye Ero-sennin! Stay away from the hot springs! Bye Hokage-jiichan!"

"Uzumaki Naruto?"

Naruto craned his neck to see who was asking but was unable to see so instead he turned around and stared at a man with a brown ponytail and a scar across his nose. "Yeeeees?"

"Ah. My name's Umino Iruka. Welcome to the academy. If you'll take a seat, we'll start announcing the teams."

The boy nodded enthusiastically. "OK!"

Sasuke's brow had risen at seeing the unfamiliar blond. He watched with mild interest as the boy's antics and casual addressing of the Hokage. And what was with that name; "Ero-sennin"? Perverted Hermit? He shook his head. The boy looked like an idiot. He watched as Iruka talked to the boy before waving a hand toward the classroom. The boy's eyes scanned the room before looking at Sasuke, or at least in his vicinity. His eyes widened slightly when he saw the boy run forward and jump into the air, landing on a desk and using them like stairs to get to his desired seat; one seat below him beside the window as he was.

That had caused the class to stop and regard the new boy. But he seemed obvious to them all, content with staring out the window with a smile.

"OK, students. Congratulations on passing the graduation exam! Now you will be divided into three man cells and assigned an instructor to teach you. Please keep your voices down as I announce the teams."

Sakura glanced at the blond after Iruka's little speech. The blond wasn't in their academy class. How did he graduate? Her attention snapped back to the front when she heard her name called.

"Team Seven: Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura, and Uzumaki Naruto."

After getting over her squeal-fest of finding out she was on Sasuke's team Sakura scanned the room. That boy had to be the last member of her team. She knew everyone else in the class. Using the fact that he and Sasuke were so close for a chance to get closer to Sasuke she moved to the seat beside Sasuke, pushing a lock of hair behind her ear and gave a bashful smile. "Hi, Sasuke-kun. I hope you don't mind if I sit here since we're teammates."

He regarded her with a "hn" while his eyes remained on the boy in front of him. The blond had now looked away from the window and was digesting Iruka-sensei's words. He looked around in an attempt to see if he could figure out who were his teammates. Sakura caught his attention by waving her hand. "You're with us."

He nodded vigorously, hopping onto the desk in right in front of them, squatting so that he was close to eye-level with the two.

"Hi! I'm Naruto!" He paused, regarding his two new teammates. He tilted his head to the side as neither replied; one shocked from him jumping on the desk and the other… well, it's Sasuke. What can we say? The boy seemed to ponder for a moment before adding, "You guys smell weird."

_End Prologue._

* * *

**AN:** Well, there you have it folks. Naruto's first impression of his two teammates. I know this chapter seems choppy, rushed and unexplanitory on a lot of things but at the moment I could care less. I'm about to drop dead. Besides, most of you can use your knowledge of the manga/anime to deduce what you don't know. Anything else I'll probably clear up eventually.

_Geta:_ these are the traditional platform sandals that Jiraiya wears. They're probably rather hard to walk in.

Thanks for reading. Comments are appreciated.

_Phoe-chan_


	2. Chapter 1 Smells and Ramen?

**AN:** Well, I finally got a chance to update. See, college life is hard. What's worse is when you're also looking for a job, taking care of some friends (college boys do not know how to take care of themselves, I swear) and rehearsing for a theatrical performance coming up. (lemme tell you-I really wish I was behind the stage and not on it).

But, hey! Look! A new chapter! It's a lot shorter than I wanted it to be but I needed to break it down. Otherwise it may have never been finished.

**Disclaimer:** Ha. As if.

_Child of the Earth_

_Chapter 1: Smells and...Ramen?_

* * *

A vein appeared on Sakura's forehead as her face turned red from either embarrassment or anger. "I _smell_ bad?" She shrieked, though her voice didn't cut over the loud chatter of students in the room. Sasuke, being right beside her, inwardly winced at the octave. Naruto, on the other hand, gave her a strange look. 

"No!" He retorted, his bottom lip sticking out slightly. "I said you smelled _weird,_ not _bad_." To emphasize his point he sniffed lightly. "You're wearing something to cover up your natural scent. Like… um, what's it called? Perfume? Yeah, that stuff."

He turned to Sasuke, leaning forward and inhaling. Sakura stared at him as the boy came inches away from Sasuke's face. It was even scarier that Sasuke hadn't flinched. But what she didn't know was, in Sasuke's mindset, recoiling would be a sign of weakness or that he was intimidated. And Sasuke did not get intimidated.

"You smell… musky. Almost… spicy," Naruto commented thoughtfully as he leaned back a little. Sasuke arched a delicate brow, hands still clasped in front of his face.

Sakura had paused, leaning in slightly. Sasuke _was_ wearing cologne. And damn, did it smell good. Sasuke's eyes shifted to look over at her and she straightened back up, blushing profusely. By then Naruto had turned to her. She had to restrain herself from smacking him as he leaned forward lightly, closing his eyes and inhaling. "You smell like strawberries. It's a little strong though. It's hard to tell your natural scent but that can be good when you want to hide your emotions through your scent." He paused, concentrating. "Under the strawberries you smell like jasmine. Your soap?"

A snort from above made Naruto look up to see a boy with his head resting on his arms. A puppy was sitting on his head. "You know what Jasmine smells like? What, are you gay?"

Naruto's brow furrowed as he stared up at the boy. "No, quite often in towns I stopped by I would help in gardens for families letting me stay while I was passing through. I learned a lot of names of flowers and herbs and their beneficial uses. I also memorized a lot of their scents in case I ever needed to. If I'm gay because I offered to help families with their work because they were nice enough to give me shelter and feed me during my stay, then I don't like Konohagakure already. That's so shallow." Naruto replied, frowning. There wasn't really malice in his voice as much as there was him just proving his reasoning.

Sakura's eyes widened as she listened to the boy argue his point. For someone who looked so innocent and childish, he really spoke thoughtfully and carefully. Unlike his introduction, he spoke with reserve and argued his point clearly. She immediately began to respect the boy for that. Not many 12-year-olds had that kind of insight. Even she didn't have that sort of insight; to refuse to pass judgment on someone. Although the boy looked and seemed naïve, there was some sort of hidden wisdom. Perhaps it was his experience being on the road that taught him this.

Sasuke, on the other hand, was thinking more along the lines of _'He's_ _too naïve to be a ninja. He won't last at all; especially if he's as incompetent as he looks.'_ He did pause for a moment. _'Although he didn't get irrational and start yelling. Most people don't have the patience to put up with Kiba's antics.'_

The boy with the dog on his head scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Yeah, whatever you fag."

To his surprise, Sakura turned around and glared at him. "Shut up, Kiba. You're just jealous because he has the brains that you're lacking."

Even she was surprised at her outburst. It seemed that her inner self that constantly ranted about a situation decided to show up. But it didn't matter because she felt better after she said it. For some reason she didn't like the idea of someone insulting her teammate. Even if she had met him all of five minutes ago.

Kiba was about to reply when Iruka spoke up from in front of the class. "You're free to leave for lunch but you should return here by 2 PM to meet with your jounin instructors. Take this time to get to know your classmates! Good luck to you all!"

Iruka turned and walked out as several of the students filed behind him. Kiba growled and walked off after the rest of the students while Akamaru barked in Team 7's direction. Naruto tilted his head before shaking it. Loyal to his master.

"Hey, dobe."

Naruto whirled around to see who Sasuke was addressing. When he saw it was he who had been addressed, he frowned. "Why am I a dobe?"

Sasuke smirked. "You don't have any grades in this class so that makes you dead last. Besides, you don't look like you'd make a good ninja."

Naruto frowned. "I'm not a dobe. And on the contrary, you look more like a girl than you do a guy. So shouldn't you be doing something about your own appearance before you work on pointing out my flaws?"

Sakura gaped as Sasuke's eyes narrowed. He did _not_ look like girl! Of course, he had pale skin and soft hair and he had full eyelashes. His face was soft and if weren't for his glare he probably—NO! Sasuke did _not_ look like a girl.

He was about to growl out a reply when Naruto stood up, towering over them on the desk. "Ne, I know he said we should get to know each other, but I need to let my sensei know of what's been going on. Maybe afterwards we can have lunch? I'll find you two. It was fun to meet you!"

He turned around and ran off the desks, landing on the floor with a soft clack from his shoes. He turned to wave before running off.

Sakura watched him leave before glancing at Sasuke who was apparently still brooding. "So… um, want to go on a walk?"

* * *

"Ero-sennin!" Naruto called as he ran up to the toad sannin who was talking with the Hokage. Jiraiya turned to the boy who skidded to a stop in front of the two. 

"I got my team! I got my team!" Naruto cried happily, teetering on the balls of his feet. Sandaime smiled and Jiraiya rolled his eyes. "Oh? So who are the unfortunate kids?"

Naruto ignored the jab and replied excitedly, "Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke!"

There was a pause as Jiraiya glanced at Naruto then at Sandaime. "Uchiha?"

"Yes, he's the sole survivor of the massacre. If I'm not mistaken he graduated at the top of his class. He's a quiet one."

"Which probably means he's no fun," Jiraiya muttered.

"Actually, Jiraiya, I'll need to talk to you about him in a little bit." Sandaime knew that Naruto could hear him no matter how low he spoke so he did not try to hide it. So, instead, he added, "So you can know what Naruto's teammates are like."

Naruto nodded, glancing around the place he had found the two at.

"Um, where are we?" He inquired, not realizing that he'd just ran into a building when he was after Jiraiya's scent, not even considering that he might be intruding on someone's property.

"This is our apartment, brat." Jiraiya replied, rolling his eyes. Before he could say anything else a yellow blur took off around the small complex, doors opening and shutting and footsteps pattering on the floor. Said blur swooshed up the steps and footsteps could be heard on the second floor before Naruto ran back down the stairs and skidded to a stop right in front of the two older men. "I know which room I want!"

"Oh? It better not be the one with the sauna."

"No, I want the one with the big window and cliff-thing!"

"You mean the glass doors and balcony?"

"Yeah, that thing! I can see lots from there!"

Sandaime smiled as Jiraiya once again rolled his eyes. "Fine, fine. If that will shut you…"

"YAY!"

"…up."

The hokage chuckled as Jiraiya massaged his temples. Suddenly Naruto stopped running around. "Ah! I forgot I was going to have lunch with my teammates! I got to go! See ya, Hokage no jiichan, Ero-sennin!"

"Don't spend all your money on food."

"I won't!"

And with that, the little ball of energy known as Uzumaki Naruto was gone.

* * *

Naruto jumped across the rooftops, tracing the scent of his two teammates that he'd already filed away for future use. Get to know your teammates, right? He skidded to a stop and peered below to see Sakura sitting on a bench. He hopped down and landed in front of her, shocking the poor girl right out of her thoughts. "Ah!" 

Naruto gave a sheepish look as he scratched the back of his head, still on his haunches. "Ehehe…sorry; I shouldn't have startled you like that."

Sakura forced a small smile and waved her hand. "No, it's… all right. What do you need, Naruto, was it?"

"Yeah, Naruto, and I thought we were all going to go get lunch so we could get to know each other better."

Sakura perked up. She had failed at another attempt to get Sasuke to go out with her and now was another opportunity. She liked this kid already. He was making her life much easier to attempt to snag Sasuke. "Sure."

"Great. Now let's see…"

"Sasuke-kun went that way," Sakura stated, pointing toward the road that lead to the bridge.

Naruto nodded, having caught whiff of his scent. "Great! Let's go get him!" With that, he grabbed Sakura's wrist and took off running toward the bridge, dragging the poor girl along.

"Wha—whoa—wait, Naruto!"

* * *

Sasuke was sitting on the railing of the bridge, quietly watching people pass by. His stomach rumbled a bit but he didn't feel the urge to move from his perch. His brow twitched slightly when he saw two familiar heads pop into view. One was blonde, the other pink and both were yelling his name. Dear God, what had he done in his past life to deserve this misery? 

"Ne, ne! Sasuke-kun! Naruto wants us to go get lunch together!" Sakura called, waving to him. She and the blond stopped in front of the boy who looked anything less than pleased.

"No."

Naruto rolled his eyes, hopping up on the railing to be eye-level with Sasuke. "Sorry! Wrong answer!" He chirped, grabbing Sasuke and yanking him from the railing. Sasuke jerked his wrist back but the boy had a firm grip. He sighed and gave in, letting the pipsqueak drag him around.

Then the boy let go and turned to the two with a confused look on his face.

"Um… where do we eat?"

Sakura and Sasuke paused before the former spoke up. "How about Ichiraku?"

Naruto tilted his head, looking at her. "What do they have to eat?"

"Ramen!"

"Ramen? What's that?"

**To be continued.**

* * *

**AN:** Heh, bet you didn't expect that. :P 

-Hokage no jiisan means Old Man Hokage-if I'm right. Something like that. You get the idea. Yeah.

Reviews appreciated. xP

_Phoe-chan_


	3. Chapter 2 Bells and Brains

**AN:** So sorry this took so long! I know this story's going slowly, but please bear with me. I want character development as opposed to jumping right into the action.

**Disclaimer:** Pppphthh.

_Child of the Earth_

_Chapter 2: Bells and Brains _

* * *

"I can't believe you didn't know what ramen was..." Sakura muttered as they waited in the academy room on their sensei. Naruto pouted, plopping down on the floor, looking up at her. 

"I can't help that I lived a sheltered life!" Naruto retorted, folding his arms across his chest. Sasuke was ignoring the two, focusing his eyes on the door. All the other students had left with their new instructors. Where the hell was theirs? Being around these two was making him think weird things. Like how the hell did someone live twelve years of life without eating ramen? Or was Sakura's hair naturally pink? And why did Naruto wear such impractical shoes? And how did he get a hangnail?

Sasuke stopped himself right there and started praying that their sensei would show up before his remaining sanity was lost forever.

More minutes passed. No sign of their instructor. (Little did they know this would become a regular occurrence.) Naruto sighed and reached in the pouch strapped to his hip, pulling out a scroll. Fishing around for a pencil, he tugged the strings with his teeth, letting it unravel.

Sakura and Sasuke watched with curiosity as the boy spread the scroll before him and leaned over it, tapping the eraser of his pencil against his chin. The scroll was a jutsu scroll but had notes and scribbles around it. After a moment of pondering the boy scratched something down in sloppy handwriting near the end.

Sakura, being as Sasuke would never voluntarily speak up, walked over to him, looking over his shoulder. "What are you doing, Naruto?"

Naruto blinked, looking up at her. "Oh! I'm breaking down this jutsu I've been learning. It's really good for you to know how a technique works so that you can better execute it and counter it should it be used against you!"

Sakura blinked owlishly, digesting this information. "Wow, that's... really clever. Did you learn that from your sensei?"

Naruto sputtered, laughing. "Ero-sennin? Ha! He doesn't know anything intelligent. I was taught this by someone else. She's really smart."

"Oh, who is she?"

Naruto opened his mouth to reply when the door opened and in walked a very tall, grey-haired man. He lazily glanced over at them. One was sitting by himself, brooding. The other two were talking, a scroll spread between them. "Hmm."

Naruto snapped the scroll closed, retying the string and put it away, a bright grin spreading across his face. Sakura was staring at the man, whose only visible facial feature was his right eye. Sasuke gave him a look that might have required one or two facial muscles, but one couldn't be quite sure.

"Ne! If you're our sensei, you're late!" Naruto exclaimed standing and putting his hands on his hips. "As a shinobi, you should be reliable!"

Kakashi arched a brow, standing up straight. "First impression: Not much."

The three gave foul looks.

* * *

"OK, OK, let's learn a little bit about each other. Ya know, your hobbies, likes and dislikes, etc." 

The three stared blankly at their sensei, now sitting on the roof of one of the many buildings of Konoha. "Um... could you give us a demonstration?" Sakura inquired.

Kakashi shrugged, giving a nonchalant look, or so they thought. "My name's Hatake Kakashi..."

As soon as he finished his three line introduction, Sakura and Naruto exchanged looks. "We only learned his name!" Sakura hissed. Naruto nodded vehemently in agreement.

"OK. Ladies first," Kakashi offered, nodding to Sakura.

The girl perked up, pointing at herself before snapping to attention. "Uh... my name is Haruno Sakura. My likes are... er," she glanced at Sasuke then scrunched her face up, "lots of things... I dislike blond pig-girls and people picking on my looks. Um, my dreams are..." She blushed, glancing down at the floor, "My hobbies are... reading and shopping."

Kakashi nodded. _'Seems like her mind is on boys, but the idea that she reads might mean she has some book sense.'_ "OK. Next, you."

Sasuke looked up at him briefly before returning to his straight-ahead glare. "Uchiha Sasuke. There are a lot of things I dislike and few things I like. Dreams are just a word, but I do have an ambition. I want to restore my clan and there is a man I've sworn to kill."

Sakura and Naruto both glanced at him, one in awe, and the other in concern. Kakashi nodded to himself, _'Not surprised...'_ "Hobbies?"

"Training."

_'Figures,'_ Kakashi thought dryly. "And lastly, you."

Naruto grinned widely, sitting up. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto! I like to spend my time in the woods and with animals and I like to train! I don't like perverts," Kakashi grimaced, "shoes, and big cities. My dreams are to become Hokage and find out more about myself. My hobbies are playing and tree-climbing, and breaking down jutsus."

Kakashi arched a brow. _'Uzumaki... interesting. I didn't know they were back._' "Who's your guardian?"

Naruto looked up. "Um, Ero-sennin. ...Er, Jiraiya, I mean."

"That's what I thought."

Kakashi stared at Naruto a bit longer than the other two, which didn't go unnoticed. _'I wonder why Sandaime didn't inform me of their return. Especially if he were to be placed on my team…'_ "Naruto."

"Yeah?"

"When did you get back to Konoha?"

"Today! We would have been here sooner but Ero-sennin and I got side-tracked after being chased by a mob of angry women."

Kakashi grimaced again. "Right. So! Our first assignment is going to be survival training…"

It wasn't but two minutes later when Team 7 found themselves staring at Kakashi like he had grown a second head. Kakashi was cackling with glee at the priceless looks on his students' faces. "See? You guys are freaked!"

Naruto squinted some, looking up at him. "So… if we don't pass the exercise tomorrow… we fail?"

"It's all in that paper I gave you. Good luck and don't be late!" Kakashi turned to leave, then added, "Oh, and don't eat breakfast. You'll throw up."

Sasuke and Sakura blanched. Naruto tilted his head, as if the statement swooshed right over him.

He glanced back down at the paper, squinting. Something just didn't add up here…

Sasuke stood up, crushing the paper in his hand before walking off. Sakura stood to follow him but winced as he glared at her, daring her to even try. Naruto frowned at the interaction, standing up. "Um, see you guys tomorrow!"

Naruto jumped off the railing, hurriedly getting away from the uncomfortable scene.

* * *

It was early that morning. The sun was barely peaking out over the horizon and naturally, Sasuke was the first one there. Sakura appeared shortly after, yawning. "Ohayo, Sasuke-kun…" 

He acknowledged her greeting with a "Hn," before returning to his own little world.

Minutes passed and there was no sign of Naruto or Kakashi. It was now daylight, the dew beginning to dry up and Sasuke and Sakura were getting impatient. "Where are they!" Sakura hissed, putting her hands on her hips.

Sasuke didn't reply but narrowed his eyes. He could have sworn he heard a "pop" noise of some sort. He glanced in the direction of the sound, only to see a few scattered trees, full of green leaves. Frowning he turned his head back forward before whipping his head back around upon hearing a strangled cry.

Sakura turned, too, eyes wide. Both stared as the third member of their team tumbled out of the tree and onto the ground in an undignified heap. He winced, pulling himself up into a sprawled sitting position, rubbing his head. After a moment of recollecting himself, he scowled and glared up into the tree.

"I asked you to wake me up! Not try to kill me!"

Both stared as a little orange toad hopped down onto Naruto's head. "So I shouldn't have landed on your face. It's not my fault your balance is awful."

"I was sleeping!"

"Obviously," the toad replied dryly. "Look, I got you up just like you wanted. Now if you don't mind, I'm going to miss breakfast and pops'll kill me if I'm not there. Oh, and Jiraiya said if you pass, he'll teach you a new technique."

The boy's eyes lit up, all traces of sleep gone. "Really!"

"Yeah. See ya, kid."

"Bye, Gamakichi!" Naruto replied as the frog disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Sakura stared. Was that a summon? She frowned, glancing at Sasuke who was staring at Naruto with an unreadable expression.

"Ne! Naruto! What were you doing up there?"

The blond looked up to Sakura and smiled, waving. He stood, dusting off his clothes and bounded over to his two teammates. "Ah, I was sleeping. I told Gamakichi to wake me up before Kakashi-sensei arrived."

"Why were you sleeping out here, dobe?" Sasuke inquired, surprising the other two with his question.

Naruto tilted his head, "I normally sleep outside when the weather's nice like this. Besides, I'd have more time to sleep than if I had to get up, get ready and get over here. Plus, I took some time to check out the area yesterday. Now I'm a bit familiar with my surroundings."

Sasuke said no more while Sakura prompted another question. "Was that a summon?"

Both of the genin turned to Naruto who grinned. "Yeah, Ero-sennin is the toad sannin. He has a contract with the toads for summoning. Though Boss and he don't always get along very well."

He was about to say more when there was a poof of smoke and the silver-haired jounin appeared. "Yo."

"You're late!" Sakura and Naruto shouted in unison.

"Ahaha, sorry about that, I got lost on the road of life," Kakashi offered.

Naruto rolled his eyes, "Only you could get lost on a one-lane road."

Ouch.

* * *

Sakura was nervously sweating and Sasuke was grimacing. Naruto was blinking curiously while Kakashi was secretly indulging in the looks on his student's faces. 

"Only two bells and one of us will fail?" Sakura inquired weakly.

Kakashi nodded happily… a little_ too_ happily. "Yup! But that doesn't mean two of you will pass. None of you could pass. Depends on how good you kids are."

Naruto's eyes narrowed but said nothing more. Kakashi glanced at his watch then stepped back, pulling out his little orange book. "OK! You've got three hours until noon! Good luck!"

With a burst of dust, two of the three students disappeared. Kakashi looked over his book to see Naruto still standing in front of him, face pale. '_Did I scare him that bad? Some student of Jiraiya's…'_ "What?"

"Um… are all really strong ninja perverts?"

Kakashi sighed dejectedly. Double ouch.

* * *

It took Naruto all of ten seconds to recompose himself and upon doing so, he straightened up and looked at Kakashi. "OK. Let's get this over with." 

Kakashi arched a brow, "Uh, I think you're not quite getting the purpose of this exercise…"

Naruto giggled, rocking on his feet, which were not surprisingly bare. "Maybe; who knows?"

Kakashi paused at this before returning to his book. "Whatever; just don't get your hopes up."

Naruto laughed before disappearing.

Kakashi's eye snapped up at this and jumped as a fist came down and hit the ground where he stood. He jumped back as the boy appeared for a moment, kicking what could have been his ribcage. He raised one hand to block an incoming hit, the impact of his hand meeting Naruto's fist resounding in a loud 'smack'. _He's testing me. But what for? He should know he can't beat me._

Sasuke stared at the encounter from his perch in a nearby tree. He was having trouble keeping up with the blond's movements and it was pissing him off. How could a kid be that fast? He was possibly faster than – no. Sasuke was the genius here. That little brat was nothing compared to him.

Sakura was biting her bottom lip. This kid was good but he wasn't getting any hits in… she was pretty sure she had no chance… even Sasuke-kun might… She stopped herself from finishing that thought. She couldn't have doubts in her crush, right?

Everyone snapped to attention when the blur suddenly stopped and Naruto stood a few feet away from Kakashi, hands behind his back. He leaned forward slightly, giving a cute, yet sly grin. "Sankyuu, Kakashi-sensei! You just gave me the answers I was looking for!"

With a soft giggle, the boy jumped back and into the forest.

Kakashi frowned. This kid was planning something. What had he learned from Jiraiya? Not much, if he hated Jiraiya's …hobbies.

* * *

It had been about twenty minutes and Kakashi had not seen any sign of his students. Curious he was, but he was also too engrossed in his book to really be concerned with it. 

Sasuke had been watching Kakashi carefully, waiting for him to let down his guard. He hadn't, even as he was laughing over his book or when a red blush appeared on his face as he eagerly turned his page. It was getting irritating.

And then it got more irritating.

A split second later, Naruto appeared beside him, smiling. Sasuke narrowed his eyes, hissing. "What do you want, dobe?"

Naruto put a finger to his lips. "It would be easier to all of us to work together to get the bells, wouldn't it?"

"Tsh. Idiot. I'm not going to work with you two to get the bells. You'd get in my way and Sakura would just slow me down. Besides, one of us would have to give up the bell and I'm not going to take my chances with you. I don't trust you."

Naruto pouted some but shrugged. "Suit yourself. But just a friendly warning: If I can't touch him, there's no way you can."

Sasuke whipped his head around angrily but the boy was already gone. _'Damn little brat. I'm going to kill him…'_

* * *

Sakura had been wandering around, looking for her precious Sasuke-kun. A rustle of leaves made her turn around, hands together. "Sasuke-kun?" 

Instead, Naruto hopped down, smiling and putting a finger to his lips, motioning for her to follow. Sakura hesitated but after a minute, decided she might as well. After a few moments of them gaining space from Kakashi, Naruto came to a stop. "We should work together for the bells."

"What about Sasuke-kun?" Sakura inquired, furrowing her brow.

Naruto shook his head. "I tried. He wouldn't listen to me. If he'd just think…"

"Hey! Sasuke-kun knows what he's doing!" Sakura replied indignantly.

Naruto sighed, rubbing his temples. "OK, OK. Just hear me out… There are two bells but there are three of us. One of us is going to fail no matter what, correct? Now, think about it. We're trying to steal these bells from a jounin. A _jounin_. No genin is going to be able to snag a bell alone. You'd have to work together to even get close."

"Yeah, but one of us still has to fail," Sakura argued, throwing her arms out.

"No, no, no; you're not listening to me!" Naruto hissed, getting irritated. "Think. About. It. Nothing adds up!"

Sakura hesitated, her brow creasing again. "What do you mean?"

Naruto waved her over, picking up a stick. She hesitantly complied, looking down at the sand as he scribbled hastily. "He said there are twenty-seven graduates. We're all in three-man cells. It's unfair to divide the students into these cells because the chances of getting a bell would be different if you switched the sets of three. Someone who is weak in one group could be strong in another and vice versa, changing the results, right?"

Sakura nodded slowly, signaling she understood. "Go on…"

"OK, to add to that, did you notice that the teams are divided so that their strengths are equal? Or at least, theoretically? No team has all strong people or all weak people. It's a mixture based on the ranks of your academy, from what I can gather. Now, why are we divided into three-man cells? What's the purpose?"

Sakura paused, thinking. "To… Uh… lessen confusion?"

Naruto shook his head. "No, that doesn't work. Something's not adding up…"

"OK, I agree with you on that, but this solves nothing."

"I know; I know," Naruto replied irritably, sighing. "I don't get it… there are twenty-seven of us, yet only nine will pass. And even then--!"

Both he and Sakura looked at each other, now on the same train of thought.

"If there are two bells in each group and there are twenty-seven of us, then there's a possibility of eighteen students passing!" Sakura exclaimed, crouching beside Naruto and taking his stick. "See? There would be nine teams of three and two bells per team would give a possibility of eighteen people passing. That's not a 66 percent failing rate. That's only a 33 percent failing rate at the lowest."

Naruto nodded, "So how would only nine pass if there were more who got bells?"

"I don't know, again it goes back to the teams—!" Sakura stopped, her eyes widening. "That's it!"

"What?" Naruto inquired, looking at her. "What is it?"

"There won't be eighteen people who pass. There will be only nine."

"How?" Naruto inquired, waving his hand.

"The object is not to get the bells."

Naruto stopped, brows rising. "The object…"

"…is teamwork."

"The ones who pass will be the ones who work together to get the bells…" Naruto murmured, staring down at their figures drawn in the sand."

"That's why we're divided into teams of equal strengths and weaknesses. That's also why we're pitted up against a jounin. The bells are designed to cause confusion and dissention in our ranks… otherwise this would be way too easy. It goes back to being a real ninja. Sometimes sacrifices have to be made for the mission to be a success and it's a possibility that the sacrifice is someone on the team."

Naruto nodded, vaguely remembering one of Jiraiya's moral speeches… which also happened to get into the three things that ruin a ninja: money, alcohol, and women.

Jiraiya spent the following week trying to convince Naruto he was a real ninja.

"Wow! You're really smart, Sakura-chan!" Naruto grinned over at her, his previous irritation gone.

She flushed a little,brushing offthe endearment the boy tacked on."Yeah, that's the one good thing about my big forehead…"

Naruto crinkled his nose. "Uh, you don't have a big forehead."

Sakura blinked, looking over at him. "You think so?"

"Yeah! Besides, if you're not happy with it, why don't you just wear your hitai-ate around your forehead like it's supposed to go. Problem solved."

Sakura paused, blinking. Slowly, she reached up, removing her forehead protector from her hair before retying it across her forehead. Her bangs fell some and she grinned over at him. "How do I look?"

Naruto returned her grin, "Like you're going to kick Kakashi-sensei's butt."

Sakura then stopped, "But what about Sasuke-kun? You said he wouldn't help."

Naruto rubbed his chin before smirking. "I have a plan…"

* * *

Kakashi chuckled as he patted Sasuke's head, the boy scowling up at him from within his cocoon of earth. "Nice try, Sasuke-kun." 

'_Damnit!'_ Sasuke inwardly cursed, shifting to get out of his hole. _'Stupid jounin…'_

Kakashi began to walk back toward the clearing, one hand in his pocket. His visible eye rose from his book when a set of kunai rushed at him from the trees. "Hmm… it's about time someone else took a shot…"

Sakura and Naruto both came out of the bushes in different directions, running towards him. Sakura threw a handful of shuriken as did Naruto, both aiming dead center at Kakashi. In return, the man pulled out a single kunai and deflected all the shuriken. The blades fell to the ground harmlessly. '_So they've teamed up… that's a start… And I thought Sakura would team with Sasuke instead of Naruto… and she's wearing her hitai-ate properly… what did that boy say to her?'_

Sakura ran to one side, pulling out more kunai as Naruto attacked Kakashi's other side. All of his attacks were evaded, but he hadn't expected them to hit.

With a yell, Sakura charged forward, kunai swinging down in what she hoped was a blind spot. Kakashi pushed Naruto away, taking the kunai from Sakura and tossing her back. She landed roughly on the ground, wincing as she slowly stood to her feet.

Sasuke snorted from where he was still trying to get out of his hole. See? They weren't doing any better than he was and he was working by himself! He knew they'd slow him down.

Naruto threw more kunai and Kakashi ducked. Naruto's eyes widened in horror as the kunai sailed directly at Sakura. The girl froze, panic written on her face. Kakashi turned his visible eye widening.

However there was a blur as Naruto disappeared from behind Kakashi and reappeared beside Sakura, grabbing her around the waist with one arm, kunai in the other as he shifted, positioning himself in front of Sakura and deflected his weapons from hitting both of them.

Kakashi inwardly sighed in relief. It'd look bad on his record if his students killed each other.

Naruto deflated, letting go of Sakura and turning to look at her. "Are you OK? I shouldn't have just thrown the kunai like that. I was expecting him to block, not duck."

He mentioned nothing of Sakura freezing and not ducking herself. After all, they were just academy graduates. He had been in actual fights.

Sakura smiled uneasily. "It's OK… I'm fine. T-Thanks…"

"Yo."

Sakura's eyes widened as did Naruto's, knowing good and well who was behind him.

"Nice moves, but never leave your back open to your opponent."

Sasuke stared as Kakashi formed the tiger seal. _'He can't be thinking of using a Katon jutsu on that idiot… is he trying to fry the both of them?'_

"Konohagakure Ancient Taijutsu Supreme Technique: 1000 Years of Pain!"

_To Be Continued…_

* * *

**AN:** HAHA. Of all the places to leave off at, I chose this one. Why? Because the chapter was getting way too long so I went back and cut it here. But! That means some of the next chapter is written already! Hurray! 

To anyone who thinks Naruto is too smart: Naruto has had someone to watch over him his entire life. While Jiraiya's not the best parental figure, he's by no means a fool. Naruto is not stupid. He's naïve and ignorant to certain things. He's innocent. You'll see more of this as the story progresses.

Thanks for your reviews as feedback is always appreciated!

_Phoe-chan _


	4. Chapter 3 Clones and Teamwork

**AN:** It's at the bottom for once.

**Disclaimer:** I'm a member in another manga group. Don't own Naruto.

Break

**Child of the Earth**

_Chapter 3: Clones and Teamwork_

* * *

"SENNEN GOROSHI!" 

Sakura stepped back as Kakashi rammed his fingers into Naruto's ass, sending the boy into the air. Sasuke stared at them with the most appalled expression on his face that he could manage. _That_ was taijutsu? That was an ass-poke! Now he knew for certain the old man was a pervert.

However, Naruto only got about ten feet in the air when turned into a puff of smoke with a pop. Sakura started, staring up at where the boy had been. _'That wasn't kawarimi… what was that?'_

Sasuke looked around. "Where did that idiot go?"

Kakashi took a step back. "That was…" _'He knows kage bunshin… naturally Jiraiya would teach him a forbidden technique…_'

There was a rustle nearby as Naruto, or another Naruto, jumped out of the trees. "Aww, man! You popped my bunshin!"

"That was a bunshin!" Sakura shouted incredulously. "It was solid!"

"Of course it was," Naruto replied, brow furrowing. "It was kage bunshin. It's a technique that creates solid clones via chakra and shadows."

Sakura stared back to where the clone disappeared then back to the other Naruto. "You've got to be kidding me."

Kakashi shook his head. This was the most interesting group he'd had in his entire career. "You'd better hurry. You're almost out of time."

Naruto frowned, glancing up at the sun. "Drat."

He put his hands together, looking over to Sakura. "Now you can go help Sasuke. I'll keep him busy while you do that."

Sakura nodded, backing up to move to where Sasuke was partially out of his hole.

"Kage bunshin no jutsu!"

She stopped when ten clones appeared, all wielding kunai. "Charge!"

One clone appeared beside her. "Here, I'll help. He's probably going to be stubborn, like we talked about."

Sakura nodded numbly, trotting after the clone.

The other clones were attacking Kakashi, who was successfully parrying all their attacks, but they were getting close. With a poof, one clone disappeared after a punch from Kakashi. With two more punches, two more clones disappeared.

Sakura and the Naruto clone walked over to Sasuke, who scowled at them. "I don't need your help."

'_Right. And you're conveniently buried in the dirt because it's good for your skin?'_ Inner Sakura replied dryly. Sakura nearly felt like voicing it as well. "So how do we get him out? He's stuck pretty well."

"I said I can get myself out on my own!" Sasuke growled, glaring at her. Sakura glared back, to the shock of Sasuke. Naruto Clone glanced back at the others, seeing Naruto was down to only three clones and himself.

"How good are you at molding chakra?" The clone inquired, looking at Sakura. She gave him an uncertain look. "I uh…"

"Never mind," Naruto replied, raising his fist before slamming it into the ground. The earth cracked around Sasuke, loosening enough that he could climb out. The boy was dirty and his pride was wounded but other than that, Sasuke was fine.

"You seriously cannot be that strong," Sakura commented, staring at him disbelievingly. Naruto clone rubbed the back of his head. "No, I'm not. I'm pressing chakra to my hand as I punch to put more force into it. Unfortunately, I don't have near enough the control for it to be effective. If one has excellent chakra control, they can destroy boulders with their bare fists."

"Their _bare fists_?" Sakura echoed, eyes widening.

Naruto clone nodded, grinning. "Seen it done. You do _not_ wanna get that woman mad."

Sakura blinked as did Sasuke, but the subject was dropped.

The clone then looked over to the other clones, seeing there was just Naruto and one other clone. "Ugh. Oh, well. We'd better work together to get those bells."

"I already told you, dobe. I'm not going to work with you for those bells. One of us has to get kicked out."

The clone gave him an exasperated look. Sakura glared at him. "You know, for a genius, you're pretty slow, Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke stared at her as she nodded. That felt… good. And hey, it was more of a reaction she got out of him than with her fawning.

She shrugged, nodding to the clone. "You figure it out. You can either work with us or on your own—but of course, we're not going to dig you out next time."

With that, she turned and ran back to Kakashi and the real Naruto. Sasuke was… stumped, to say the least. Sakura herself was grinning from ear to ear, not that he could see it. Oh yeah… Inner Sakura gave a thumbs-up as she drew more kunai, throwing them at Kakashi.

Kakashi turned around, using the last clone to block her attacks. The other clone sighed and ran from her side, charging at Kakashi. With a swift punch, it was gone, too.

That left the real Naruto and Sakura standing him down. "Saa… not enough, you two."

Naruto frowned; glancing at Sakura, then back at Kakashi. He didn't like using jutsus he wasn't familiar with but he was running out of options and he didn't want to use high-level attacks.

He raised his hands and raised them into a seal, shifting to another one. Then he blinked as Sasuke jumped from behind him, kunai in hand to strike Kakashi. Kakashi blocked, removing the kunai as he flipped Sasuke, the boy landing on his back. He grunted and Kakashi realized Naruto was behind him, fists raised to hit. He spun around, grabbed the boy's fist as he punched and used the momentum to throw him into the lake.

The boy skidded across the water some before going under. Sakura's eyes widened as Sasuke sat up, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. Kakashi's brow arched as the water bubbled some and Naruto surfaced. Then to his surprise, the boy didn't swim to shore, but began to climb on top of the water.

'_Jiraiya's been training him in chakra control for a while, it seems. No normal genin should be able to do that_.' He gave a smirk under his mask. '_But he's not a normal genin…_'

Naruto scowled, wringing the ends of his shirt out. "I hate wet clothes!" He whined before shaking his hair and body like a dog. Sakura was staring at Naruto, slack-jawed, face contorted into one of disbelief. What else could this kid do!

Sasuke was practically fuming. How was he able to do that? What did he have that Sasuke didn't? He was determined to find out. He got to his feet, watched as Naruto ran across the water to the lake's edge, jumping off and heading straight to him and Kakashi.

The timer went off.

He stopped, eyes widening.

It was over.

* * *

Kakashi smirked down at his three students. Naruto sat on his left, picking at his wet clothes. Sasuke sat in the middle fuming and Sakura was to his right, edging away from the boy who was emitting an aura so dangerous the grass was turning yellow where he sat. 

"Saa…" Kakashi started, rubbing his chin. "There's good news and bad news."

The three looked up at him, waiting for him to continue. "The good news is, two of you figured out the objective of this mission—Teamwork. Congratulations Sakura, Naruto." Both looked at each other and grinned.

"The bad news is that all three of you were supposed to work together."

Had Sasuke been anyone else he would've shrunk under the looks he received from the other two. Instead, he opted to snort and look away.

Kakashi sighed. "To be blunt, Sasuke is keeping you two from passing."

All three froze. Naruto and Sakura looked at Sasuke again who was staring down at a dandelion that seemed to be wilting under his gaze.

Inner Sakura was throwing a rant a mile long about how Sasuke was such a prick. Sakura, herself, would never voice this but she had to admit she agreed with her inner self for once.

Naruto frowned before raising his hand. Kakashi looked over at him. "Yeah?"

"Um… where does that leave us now?"

"Good question, Naruto. Since I can't fail you two because you actually passed the test, I'm going to give you three one more chance to work together."

Sasuke's head shot up, though he didn't meet Kakashi's gaze.

Kakashi nodded to the lunches. "Sakura, Naruto, go ahead and eat lunch. But don't share the bentos with Sasuke—it's what he gets for not looking underneath the underneath."

The three gave him weird looks but he left it at that. "And remember, my word is law. You disobey me, you automatically fail. I'll be back shortly."

Kakashi disappeared, leaving the three to their own devices. He reappeared a distance away where he could watch them. _'They figured out the exercise's purpose… now let's see them apply what they know.'_

* * *

Sakura frowned as she looked at Sasuke. He was still glaring at the ground. She glanced at Naruto who was munching in thought. "Ya know… it's strange. I get the feeling he's testing us again… but I don't sense him anywhere. So, oh well!" He chirped, setting his box down. The other two looked over at him, one directly, the other out of the corner of his eye. Naruto stuck out his tongue slightly as he shuffled around in his pouch. With a triumphant cry he pulled out an apple. Grinning, he tossed it to Sasuke. 

Sasuke caught it and looked at it, then back at Naruto. "Dobe, do you want to fail this time?"

Naruto grinned mischievously. "But I didn't do anything wrong."

Sasuke's brow furrowed as Sakura looked around. Naruto waved to her. "Don't worry; I can't sense his presence. Besides, like I said, I didn't do anything wrong."

When both looked to him for a further explanation he repeated what Kakashi said. "'Don't share your bentos with Sasuke,' is what he said, but he said nothing about not sharing food with him! I remembered I had packed a snack last night in case I got hungry during the test. I didn't believe his 'don't eat breakfast' warning so I came prepared. Good thing, huh?"

Sasuke smirked, biting into his apple. "It's amazing how that airhead of yours has brains."

"Hey!"

Sakura giggled at the two before a roaring sound came from the near distance. All three froze and looked up as Kakashi came barreling towards them with enough speed to leave a dust trail. "You three…!"

He skidded to a stop in front of his terrified students. "Pass."

Sakura opened her eyes, Sasuke blinked at him and Naruto scrunched his face up. "How?"

As Kakashi explained the value of teamwork, Naruto managed to down his food in ten seconds flat. With a happy sigh, he set the box down on the grass and stared at the memorial stone Kakashi was looking down at. Before he could dwell on thoughts, Kakashi looked up and his eyes crinkled into what seemed to be a smile.

"So! Congratulations Team 7! You're officially genin!"

Cheers came from Sakura and Naruto as Sasuke smirked again, taking another bite from his apple.

Kakashi then rubbed his chin. "Naruto…"

The boy in question looked back up at him. "Yes?"

"At the beginning of the round, what did you mean by 'you gave me the answers I wanted to know'?"

Naruto thought back before he smiled. "I wanted to see if you had true depth perception or if you were using a self-cast genjutsu. I mean, you only have one eye visible so I wanted to know how you were managing to judge distances. I was hoping if it was a spell that I could dispel it and use it to my advantage. But it's not so… that didn't work out."

Kakashi nodded slowly. "Well, you're right. It's not. I just developed it over time. One more: Why did Jiraiya teach you the replication technique? It's a forbidden jounin-level jutsu."

Sasuke and Sakura both froze, looking over at Naruto who was sheepishly rubbing the back of his head. "Ahaha… see, Ero-sennin and I often had to run from villages to escape angry mobs of women who were after his head. He taught me the technique to buy us time. It comes in handy a lot…"

Kakashi nearly smacked his forehead. Of course it would be for some reason like that. "Should've known…" he muttered under his breath.

"Well! Now that that's said and done, you're free for the rest of the day! Show up here tomorrow at 8 AM sharp! Don't be late!"

He turned to walk off as Naruto cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted to his retreating form. "Practice what you preach!"

Sakura giggled, cleaning up their boxes as the three stood. "So, what are you guys going to do for the rest of the day? Would you like to walk me home, Sasuke-kun?"

"No."

Sakura looked a little crestfallen but put a smile on over it immediately. "Thank you for your help today, Naruto. I'm glad you're on our team."

Naruto smiled widely. "Me, too! I think we're going to be a great time. But!" He looked back toward the village. "I have to go. Ero-sennin told me he had something important to tell me after the exam. He sounded serious and that's not a common thing."

He turned and smiled at the two. "See you tomorrow? And, Sasuke! Walk Sakura-chan home! She can tell you about some of the ideas we came up with!"

He took off jogging toward the village, leaving a dumbfounded Sakura and a slightly shocked Sasuke. Sasuke looked at Sakura before contemplating on what Naruto said. As much as he hated to admit it, he wanted to know what the idiot and Sakura schemed together when he wasn't there. He was determined to reach the blond's level and then surpass him. He glanced at Sakura who was staring at him before giving a grunt and turning to walk toward the village. He stopped after a few steps and looked back at Sakura. "You coming?"

The girl's eyes widen, a pink blush staining her cheeks as she nodded, running to catch up with him. "S-sorry!" She apologized, staring down at the ground.

Being as Sasuke was, the walk home was quiet—but for Sakura, that was OK.

* * *

Naruto stepped inside the house, amazed that Jiraiya could have it furnished so quickly. The man had no taste, literally. Looking around, he spotted the man in the kitchen. "Ne! Ero-sennin! I passed!" 

Jiraiya looked up, smirking at him. "Wow, you did something right for a change."

"Argh! What is it with everyone picking on me!" Naruto whined. Jiraiya chuckled and shook his head, finishing his sandwich.

"Let's take a walk, Naruto. It's time I told you about the reason we left Konoha and what the seal on your stomach means."

Naruto blinked. "My seal…? You said it was to help my chakra."

"It is. But there's more to it than that." Jiraiya sighed. He was dreading this talk but it had to be done. The boy had to know.

He just hoped the child took it well.

_End chapter 3_

* * *

**AN:** Well, I got it out sooner than I and most everyone else thought. I know it's pretty much half-assed but I feel like crap at the moment. But anyway, I realized that I needed to reply to a couple of questions/comments left by one or two reviewers so, here they are. 

**Wolvesmo0n:** OK, you probably meant well but what you said really irked me and I'll tell you why. As a reader, you may think that I am obligated to update and write to please you. I'm not. I write for my enjoyment and share it with you because I think other people might like it and because I like to know what people think of my ideas and style. I listen to ideas others have to offer and take up challenges but that does not mean I have to do it. I'm not getting paid to do this. I take a long time to update because I have a life outside the internet, it's called being a college student, and I also have to have inspiration, which I have been sorely lacking in as of late for reasons I will not delve into today. Reviewers and readers may get sour but that's not my problem. You either take what you get and like it, or you can quit reading and go find something else to occupy your time. I'm sorry but people who don't have the courtesy to consider reasons why the author may not update offend me greatly. It's what resulted in me leaving a year ago.

**SpiritsFlame:** You have a good point. I actually forgot about the significance of the hitai-ate until you mentioned it in your review. I suppose I'll either have to work in an explanation or just give the lazy-ass excuse "It's my story; I'll do what I want." Haha.

**Signalbox:** Until you mentioned it, I didn't much think of how Naruto's character resembled anyone else's but you're right—he is a lot like Haku in a sense.

**Thank you to the rest of you who reviewed! It's much appreciated.**

Erm, I suppose that's all. Yeah, Naruto's really OOC, but that's the point of the story, to give you something different. I'm trying not to make him like, all-powerful, all-knowing, but I am trying to make it more Naruto-focused than the anime/manga actually was at the beginning. As my friends and I say, "The main character is Naruto, but the plot is Sasuke." It's so true. But, ah, no rants here. As for pairings, I'm not sure as of yet. There may be some, there may not be. I was possibly thinking some mild SasuSakuNaru but who knows? Just know it won't be something off-the-wall like LeeNarutoKibaOrochimaruKonohamaruPakkun. …Let's not think about that.

So, all in all, I hope you're satisfied or semi-satisfied with this chapter—at least you know how Naruto got out of Kakashi's attack. ;) Next we'll actually get a move-on with the plot. I got asked not to do the whole Wave Country arc with Zabuza and Haku—I don't wanna do that arc, but I would like to have them encounter the two nukenin. So, we'll see.

Thanks 'n all; reviews and comments appreciated and welcome.

_Phoe-chan the lazy._


	5. Chapter 4 Foxes and Team Rivalry

**AN:** And yet another chapter for you guys. Notes are at the end of the chapter. Enjoy.

**Disclaimer:** I disclaim.

**Child of the Earth**

_Chapter Four: Foxes and Team Rivalry_

* * *

The sky was a soft gray and dew still clung to the grass as the first hints of dawn approached. It was remotely overcast but the air was crisp and cool, promising a relaxing day to those who embraced it. 

Naruto sat in a small clearing near the training grounds, in eye's distance away from his team's meeting place. He was still wearing the same clothes from yesterday, a bit more rumpled, and his hair was haphazardly tousled about his head. He sat Indian-style wit his hands resting on his knees. A soft sigh escaped his lips as he stared straight ahead. His blue eyes seemed to lack just a hint of their normal mirth and one could only wonder what could bring the blond child down. A small fox sat at his side, content with being where it was.

Naruto closed his eyes, his brow furrowing as he exhaled through his nose, lips pressed in a straight line. Yesterday's events swarmed through his mind as he struggled to sort his thoughts.

* * *

Jiraiya sighed, scratching the white spikes of his hair as he walked down one of the main roads of the village. As soon as he had finished talking with Naruto, the boy took off and he hadn't seen him since. Jiraiya wasn't really worried about the boy's safety; he was quite capable of taking care of himself, and he probably wasn't even in the village but rather outside in the forest, yet Jiraiya still walked along the roads hunting for his chakra signature. 

He was more concerned about how Naruto was taking the load of truths laid upon him yesterday. He'd always stepped around Naruto's questions about his seal and his past with vague answers but now that he had given the boy what he wanted, Naruto clammed up and took off.

He decided he should probably stop by the Hokage's tower to have a word with the old man.

Turning, he began to walk that way when he saw a familiar crest on the back of someone's shirt. Recalling Naruto's words, Jiraiya picked up his pace. "Yo!"

The person addressed turned, hands in his pockets as he regarded the tall white-haired man approaching him. He arched a brow at the man's appearance but otherwise remained quiet.

Jiraiya stopped in front of the boy, peering down at him. "You're Naruto's teammate, aren't you? He mentioned an Uchiha…" He didn't have to finish the sentence. _'And there's only one left so it's gotta be you.'_

Sasuke inclined his head in a nod. "Aa. What of it?"

Jiraiya gave a dry look. This kid had the personality of a rock. A pretty rock, but a rock nonetheless. "Look, are you meeting your team today?"

"Yes."

"OK, then. If—no, when, Naruto wouldn't miss training—when you see Naruto, tell him to _please_ come home after training and if I'm not there then he needs to go to the Hokage's tower and find me." Jiraiya paused, thinking. "Eh, that's all. He knows why he needs to come home."

Sasuke listened before nodding again. "Aa. I'll tell him."

"Thanks, kid. Uh… what was your name again?"

"Sasuke."

"Right, Sasuke. Give Naruto a run for his money, will ya? He needs a damn challenge once in a while." Jiraiya turned and walked off, holding up one hand in a wave without looking back. Sasuke stared at him, letting the man's words sink in.

'_He needs a damn challenge once in a while.'_

Sasuke smirked. _'I'll damn well give him one, too, old man.'_

* * *

Naruto stared ahead dully, recalling Jiraiya's words. 

"_What is it, Ero-sennin? Ne, ne! What's so special about my seal?"_

"_Naruto…do you remember what I told you about Yondaime and the Nine-tails?"_

"_Yep! He was your student, ne, Ero-sennin?"_

"_Yes, but that's not what I'm referring to, kid."_

"_Then you mean about how he saved Konoha?"_

"_Yeah… the seal on your stomach… represents something far greater than an aid in your chakra controlling."_

"…_OK, but what does this have to do with Yondaime?"_

"_The Nine-tails couldn't be killed. He had to …cage it. He chose you, Naruto. The seal holds the Kyuubi within you. That's why we had to leave the village."_

"_I… I don't understand. Why?"_

"_The Kyuubi killed many people, Naruto. To know that the demon wasn't killed but trapped would make them want to come after you to get to the demon. We chose to take you away so that you could have a normal life."_

"_Then… is that why I'm so different?"_

"_In the sense that your animal instincts are finely tuned and that you have an enormous chakra capacity that is hard to control, yes. Other than that, you're just you, Naruto."_

"_Does… everybody know who I am?"_

"_No, no-one your age knows about you. Most of the older generations, do, however. Or rather, they know there was a child that the fox was sealed in…"_

Naruto blinked blearily, pulling himself out of his thoughts. He sighed, letting his eyes flutter shut as he began to search deep within his mind.

The little fox that had been receiving Naruto's attention looked up when it felt Naruto's hand quit petting it. Naruto had returned to his meditating, eyes once again closed. However he looked anything but relaxed.

_Naruto found himself in a dark corridor. The echoing drip of water hitting puddles surrounded him as he looked around for a way out. Not finding one, he started forward hesitantly. A hot breeze passed him despite the damp cold that surrounded him. His brow wrinkled as he continued forward, ignoring the water that touched his feet. The hot air passed him again and shortly afterwards again. As the boy exited the corridor into a large room, he realized the hot air was coming from two tall golden gates closed shut. He couldn't see past it but he knew he had found what he was looking for._

_His eyes momentarily fluttered shut as the hot breath washed over him again, blowing his hair back. When he opened them, he found himself staring into two bright red orbs that glittered at him hungrily. **"What do you want, brat?"**_

_When it spoke, he could feel the raw power rippling throughout the room. It was frightening. Naruto swallowed. "You're the Kyuubi, ne?"_

_There was a blast of hot air as the demon snorted. **"Who else would I be, you idiotic human? Now what do you want?"**_

_Naruto stepped closer. "I… I just found out about you. I wanted to see you myself." _

_As he approached, a form became visible within the prison and his eyes widened as a low, dark chuckle echoed around him. **"Scared, brat?"**_

_Naruto licked his lips, taking in a shaky breath. "Yes…"_

"_**It seems you have some brains on you. Good."**_

* * *

Sakura saw Sasuke as she reached the training fields and caught up with him. "Ohayo, Sasuke-kun!" 

Sasuke looked over at her, greeting her with an incline of his head before continuing toward the memorial stone. He slowed down as he got to it before keen eyes focused on Naruto sitting some distance away. Sakura peeked over his shoulder, seeing Naruto.

"Hoi! Naruto!" Sakura called, walking up to the boy. Sasuke followed quietly behind, hands in his pockets. Naruto didn't respond, his brow furrowed as traces of sweat could be seen on his face. "Naruto…?"

Sakura looked to Sasuke who stared down at the boy. "Hoi. Dobe."

Still no response. Sakura gave a soft gasp when the bundle of fur beside Naruto moved and beady fox eyes looked up at the two before back at Naruto.

The boy let out a whimper, a droplet of sweat trailing down his jaw. The fox stretched and stood up, licking Naruto's hand as the boy's breath became ragged. Sakura stepped forward but was caught by Sasuke. He shook his head, curiosity getting to him.

However, the fox seemed to have other plans. Leaning up, it nipped the skin under Naruto's jaw and backed away as Naruto's eyes snapped open and he gave an audible gasp, falling forward and bracing his weight on his hands, hanging his head. He stared down at the grass, breathing heavily.

Slowly his shaky breaths became more controlled as he closed his eyes, allowing his heart beat to slow down. He felt a rough tongue licking his cheek and he opened his eyes, glancing at the fox that was peering at him. A fox… how fitting. Naruto gave a weak smile until he heard shuffling. Slowly he let his eyes look up through his bangs and saw two pairs of feet dressed in blue zori. His eyes widened as he slowly pushed himself up into a seated position, staring up at the two with a pale face. "H-How long have you been here?"

"Long enough," Sasuke replied. "What was that about?"

Naruto swallowed, his eyes nervously glancing between the two. Sakura looked concerned while Sasuke looked suspicious. Naruto's mouth felt dry as he spoke. "I was meditating. Thoughts took a turn for the worse."

"Meditating is to _clear_ your mind, idiot."

Naruto's eyes cut to Sasuke. "Just drop it, OK!" He snapped. Sasuke's eyes widened some at the uncharacteristic outburst. Naruto immediately ducked his head, muttering a soft apology.

"Sorry… it's been a rough night…"

"Yeah, that's obvious…" Sakura started, pulling Naruto to his feet and dusting him off. "Look at you! Did you sleep in your clothes? Have you even brushed your hair or teeth?"

Naruto shook his head, letting her dust his clothes off. "I stayed out last night…"

"Isn't your father worried about you?"

Naruto's head jerked up. "He… He's not my father. He's my guardian and sensei."

"Oh… I'm sorry…" Sakura apologized before Sasuke interrupted.

"He gave me a message for you."

Naruto seemed to pale a little. "O-Oh? What did he say?"

"He said that after training you need to come home and if he's not there, go to the Hokage's tower."

Naruto nodded, rubbing his arm. "Ah, yeah… Did he sound angry?"

"No."

"Why, is there something wrong, Naruto?" Sakura inquired, brow furrowed.

Naruto shrugged some. "…Ero-sennin and I got into an argument. I took off and didn't bother coming home last night. He probably wants to finish talking… or maybe he's just concerned. I'm hoping the latter."

He sighed, rubbing his temples before flopping back down onto the grass. "I was focusing on chakra… I guess it's not meditating."

"You seem to know a lot about chakra…" Sakura murmured, sitting down on her legs, tucking them under her. Sasuke remained standing, keeping an ear on the conversation while pretending to not look interested.

"Yeah… it's what I train most in. It's _really_ hard for me to control chakra. Ero-sennin says it's much harder for me than others because I have special… conditions, I guess. I just know that's what most of my training's on. Chakra means everything when it comes to being a ninja."

"Yeah, we learned that in the academy. But how do you come to use it like you do? You had to be using chakra to walk on the water."

"I was… that's an advanced practice because it requires a constant flow of chakra to adjust to the buoyancy. I just recently got to the point where I can do it without having to keep all my focus on it." Naruto wrinkled his nose. "Ero-sennin made me learn it at a bathhouse. Not only was it for him to indulge in his …habits, it was HOT for me every time I fell through the water. He though it was funny." Naruto pouted as Sakura giggled. Even Sasuke seemed to crack a smirk.

Sakura seemed to be a little fidgety. "Um, so how do you go about manipulating chakra like you do?" She was eager to learn. Or to start, at least. If she could impress Sasuke with her taking her job seriously then she'd do it!

Naruto frowned, sitting back a bit, resting his hands on his knees. "Well, I guess it would depend. Ero-sennin started me on something standard but I wasn't able to do it. I was kinda young and it was really hard for me. So he started me on something light and easy. I'm not Kakashi-sensei so I can't 'teach' you but I'd be glad to show you and try it out with you."

Sakura's eyes lit up as she edged a little closer. "What do I do?"

Naruto raised his hands, palms facing Sakura. "Place your hands against mine."

Sakura hesitated, but did as told, resting her palms against Naruto's waiting for further instruction. Naruto stared at her as he spoke. "I'm going to mold a small amount of harmless chakra for this exercise. It's very small because molding chakra that's not volatile to others takes a lot of control I don't have. What I'm going to do is push the chakra from my hand to yours. Your goal is to push that chakra to your other hand and push it into my other hand. It's going to be awkward and hard at first but slowly when you get the hang of it, it should be fluid and a continual motion that requires little thought."

"How long did it take you to get it?" Sakura inquired, glancing down at their hands nervously. Naruto looked sheepish.

"A few days… I was really young and had a short attention span. …Well, so did Ero-sennin. I highly doubt you'll have that much trouble. If you're concerned, you can hold my hands instead of touching them. The extra contact usually allows easier passing."

Sakura found her cheeks pink for some reason but Naruto seemed oblivious to her hesitation. He glanced up at Sasuke who seemed to not care what was going on but as soon as Naruto turned away he had one eye on them again. Hands still pressed palm to palm, Sakura let her fingers lace through Naruto's, gripping them tightly. She gave him a firm nod. "I'm ready."

Naruto nodded and closed his eyes for a moment before opening them. "Here it goes."

Sakura felt a tingling sensation push into her right hand. She closed her eyes in concentration, willing to channel the small force of energy through her body. Naruto waited patiently, calm blue eyes watching her face contort as she concentrated. After about twenty seconds he felt the chakra push back into his right hand abruptly, her fingers trembling slightly. She opened her eyes and looked at him. "That… wasn't as hard as I thought it would be." She commented, slightly surprised.

Naruto smiled, letting the chakra roll through his body and back to his other hand. "Now keep it up."

It was jerky at first for a few moments, the intervals varying, but soon the movement was at a steady pace and steady flow. Sakura would watch their hands, watch as she felt Naruto push the chakra into her hand and watch as she pushed the chakra into his other. After another cycle Naruto stopped and grinned widely. "Great job! I wish I could have learned that fast. You're really good, Sakura-chan!"

Sakura stuck her tongue out a bit, sheepishly grinning. She then untangled her hands from Naruto's and looked up at Sasuke. "You should try, Sasuke-kun." She paused, and then added, "I'm sure you'll pick it up just as quickly."

Sasuke seemed hesitant, before grunting and sitting down beside Sakura and Naruto, crossing his legs Indian-style. Sakura shifted a bit so that she was facing both Naruto and Sasuke, as Naruto did the same. "So it's going to be a little different, but not much," Naruto commented, holding up his palms. "Do you want to try it with just palms, Sakura-chan? It'll be a little harder but not much."

Sasuke answered for her, raising his hands, one palm pressing against Naruto's, finger tips lightly brushing against Naruto's nails, showing Naruto had smaller hands. Sakura blinked before raising her hands as well, palms pressed against Sasuke and Naruto's. She noticed in both amusement and a little embarrassment that her hands were soft and not calloused at all compared to the boys'.

Naruto nodded, molding a small amount of chakra like before. "Ready?"

Sakura nodded and Sasuke gave a one shoulder shrug, trying to look as disinterested as possible though inside he was excited at learning something new, _finally_. The academy had bored him to death for far too long.

Naruto pushed the chakra into Sakura's hand as she channeled it through her body and into Sasuke's. He nearly jumped at the cool sensation, almost forgetting what he was supposed to do. Blinking, he took the chakra and focused on the task at hand. He closed his eyes, biting his bottom lip in concentration. This was kind of hard. He didn't get why since Sakura could do it so easily and he wasn't going to be bested by a girl.

Naruto watched Sasuke concentrate. _'He has a lot of chakra. That's why it's hard. He's like me. I bet his stamina's going to be high. Sakura-chan doesn't have as much so it's easier to manipulate. He'll get it though. He won't stop until he does.'_

Sure enough, it took a bit longer than Sakura but Naruto felt the chakra press into his palm with a jolt. He blinked in surprise, noting a small portion of Sasuke's chakra had tagged along. Amused, he moved the chakra to his other hand as Sasuke looked at him. "What?"

"You added some of your own chakra in. It zapped me."

Sasuke smirked a bit, his palm a bit sweaty against Naruto's. "Too much for you?" He inquired haughtily.

His only reply was a jolt to his hand that nearly made him recoil. Naruto grinned at him before passing the chakra on to Sakura again.

By the time Kakashi appeared, the three were channeling chakra in one quick, fluid motion without having to concentrate at all.

Kakashi walked up to them, orange book in hand. "Yo!"

Sakura glared at him. "You're late, sensei."

Naruto crinkled his nose, "This is a habit of yours, isn't it?"

Kakashi blinked innocently. "Whatever made you think that?" He watched the three as they finished one more round before breaking hands and standing. _'Chakra control? Interesting… I suppose that's what we should work on. They seemed to have gotten the hang of something simple but I shouldn't expect anything but with those two.'_

"Well! Let's do some training today! I'm sure you're all up to learning some new stuff!"

Naruto eagerly nodded while Sasuke perked up. Even Sakura was interested. And it seemed out of nowhere, Kakashi pulled out a folder. "Annnnnnd here are your profiles. Lesse… Sasuke… graduated top of your class and aced every part of the exam. Sakura… has the best book smarts, while the rest of her skills are average. And… well, Naruto, I have nothing on you. Give me a summary?"

"Um…" Naruto frowned, folding his arms before squinting and tilting his head deep in thought. "Well, I'm mostly taijutsu… I only really use a few ninjutsu techniques—most because I have to study something before I can execute it effectively. Oh, and I suck at genjutsu. I can cancel lower level ones and _maybe_ a few average but other than that I have no genjutsu talent. I've been mostly trained in chakra control and taijutsu." Naruto stopped rubbing the back of his head.

"Well then, since you've been training in chakra, I suppose that's where we should start."

"But we can already use chakra…" Sakura replied, frowning. Granted, she knew she couldn't use it like Naruto could but, still."

"You can, yes, but it's very underdeveloped! The technique you were doing with Naruto is a lower level. We're going to fix that because you two can do much more than that."

Sasuke arched a brow waiting for him to continue. Kakashi's visible eye curved up to show he was grinning. "We're going to climb trees!"

"…What?" Sakura deadpanned. "How is climbing trees going to help us?"

"You're not going to use hands," Kakashi replied, chuckling at the two's expressions. "Watch." Kakashi walked up to a large tree, looking up. "Theoretically, the hardest place to mold and use chakra is your feet. By channeling your chakra to your feet and giving the correct amount…" Kakashi began to walk up the tree—vertically. "…you can climb trees without your hands!"

Sakura and Sasuke stared at him. But now that he said it, it didn't sound so farfetched. "And they say if you can channel chakra to your feet that, again, theoretically, you can perform any jutsu."

Kakashi threw two kunai down at Sakura and Sasuke's feet. "Use those to mark your progress. Naruto, what do you want to work on? I can't let you just sit there while the other two train."

"I'll work on chakra control, too" Naruto replied, to which Kakashi agreed with. Curious, he watched as Naruto took a seat under a shaded tree and began to relax, his eyes closing. The sounds Sakura and Sasuke made as they trained didn't bother him as he let a thin wave of chakra surround him, molding to his form. His brow knitted into concentration. It took a lot of control for him to do this and he couldn't keep it up for more than a minute. It was an exercise to use your chakra to form a shield around your body. It took a constant amount of concentration and flow of chakra. Naruto had to start off thin because any more was impossible for him to control. He hoped that soon he'd be able to hold it for longer. It could come in very handy if he could master it for short periods of time.

Kakashi kept one eye on his students as he sat down under a neighboring tree and read his book. A happy cry came from Sakura and looking up; he realized she was atop the tree. Sasuke had made it about a third of the way. _'It seems Sakura is good at control, but Sasuke has a lot more chakra to control. Granted, this will make him work harder. He wouldn't want to be bested by a girl.'_

Naruto watched for a moment as Sakura squealed happily. She did something right! She glanced over at Sasuke who was glowering at her. She then did something completely out of character.

She stuck her tongue out at him.

He recoiled, staring at her as she grinned. "Don't slack up, Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke scowled, flipping back down before running up the tree again, getting a little bit further. Sakura began to walk back down, balancing herself. As she got near the bottom she suddenly felt a hand push her and she yelped, toppling over. Wide-eyed, she turned to see Sasuke smirking at her, one arm outstretched. She just stared at him like he had proposed to her.

"Don't slack up, Sakura." He reprimanded before returning to his training. Her brow furrowed when she saw Naruto was giggling. Sasuke had just made a _joke_ at her. She was thoroughly convinced that she was dreaming. A pinecone hitting her head made her yelp and grab her head as she scowled up at whatever animal had thrown it.

The animal happened to be a haughty looking Uchiha who had made it to the top of the tree. "Tired, Sakura? How pathetic."

She bristled, standing up and pointing. Inner Sakura decided to make an appearance. "I'll show you 'tired', Sasuke-kun!"

With that she ran back up the tree, stopping above Sasuke before turning to run back down. He raced her and at the very end, he put too much chakra into his foot and it cracked the wood. With a start he stumbled onto the ground, trying to catch his balance. He caught himself but not in time to save his dignity. Naruto was laughing and Sakura was giggling. Even Kakashi seemed to be smirking.

He scowled, folding his arms and looking away, a red blush on his cheeks for messing up.

"Maa, Sasuke. Everyone makes mistakes. Continue until you're drained. It will help build your stamina and control. You, too, Sakura. Your chakra capacity is below Sasuke and Naruto's so you need to work extra hard."

Sakura felt a blush rise to her cheeks as Sasuke smirked over at her. She twitched, ignoring that smug look. With a huff, she turned around and continued her training. Sasuke was right behind her, smirking the whole way. She was so much more tolerable when she wasn't fawning over him.

Naruto smiled, watching them for a moment. _'Sakura has good control… I bet she'd be really good at this… while Sasuke and I have stamina, she has control. This can work in her favor to make up for the lack of chakra capacity. We'll see… later. Right now…'_

He sighed, closing his eyes again. Instead of the chakra washing over his body again, for it had already caused him to break into a sweat to keep it up for 70 seconds, he began to drift in to the depths of his subconscious. He was lurking in dangerous territory but if he was going to live with this, he had to get used to it.

"_**What do you want, brat?"**_

No matter how scared he was.

To be continued.

* * *

**AN:** Well, I guess I should apologize for leaving it right there but again, it was getting too long and I wasn't at the place I wanted to stop at. But I'm sure you're all happy for the long chapter, mm? Now, a few things I would like to address, **so if you're having any confusion or doubts about this fic, please take the time to read.**

I've gotten a couple of comments about Naruto being 'Mary-Sue'-like. This kinda irked me. First of all—don't you expect Naruto to be a little bit stronger if he's been training with Jiraiya all his life? Sasuke and Sakura are going to catch up. I'm not going to leave them behind; I hate it when people do that in these types of stories because you know why? Sasuke and Sakura are essential parts of the story and without them, the fic is hollow. If I wanted to make Naruto MS-like, then he would know the rasengan, could draw out the Kyuubi at will, be able to perform all kinds of cool jutsus and hold his own against Kakashi in a spar. Granted, he was good enough that Kakashi had to block his attacks—but so was Sasuke. Trust me, as Naruto progresses, so will his teammates. I'm not out to make Naruto all-powerful. Because then the fic becomes absolutely flat.

Also, I've got most of this fic vaguely plotted out with the exception of the Wave-country arc and its alternative. Because of this the next few chapters might be out later than you'd like.

Yes, I will focus more on Naruto's animal-like traits and his adaptation to nature as the story moves along.

And about Sakura's attitude: I personally believe if she had a push in the right direction about her feelings for Sasuke, she would jump for it. If fawning over him doesn't work, why not work hard to impress him? And her taunting him gets a better reaction out of her clinging to him. As for Sakura's hitai-ate… well, I forgot about her promise with Ino. I'll make something to work for it.

I believe that's all I wanted to cover for now. I will be _thoroughly_ pissed however if I get reviews complaining about the things I just talked about because that means you aren't reading my author's notes.

Anyhow, thank you all for your reviews and comments nonetheless and even those of you who've stalked me to make me update. If I didn't answer a question you asked or clear the confusion you have, then contact me and I'll see what I can do.

_Phoe-chan_.


	6. Chapter 5 Chakra and Missions

**AN:** Notes at end of chapter.

Disclaimer: I disclaim.

**Child of the Earth**

_Chapter 5: Chakra and Missions_

* * *

Naruto stood in front of the tall gates that held the Kyuubi behind them. The gleaming eyes stared him down as he looked up at the fox through the bars of the gates. "I thought… if we have to share the body… that we should get along…" 

"**Why should I have anything to do with you, brat,"** Kyuubi inquired.

Naruto frowned, tilting his head. "Because it gets very lonely without someone to talk to. I don't know a lot but it surely has to be nice to have a conversation once in a while—no matter who you are."

The Kyuubi did not answer right away, as if he were pondering Naruto's words. **"How long have I been trapped in this body?"**

"Since I was born…" Naruto replied, before quickly added, "Twelve years."

The fox was once again silent. **"What do you want in return?"**

"What do you mean?" Naruto inquired, blinking owlishly.

"**You mean to tell me you don't want anything in return for you keeping me from going insane with boredom?"** The fox inquired.

Naruto scratched the back of his head, sitting down on the cold, stone floor. "I was thinking we could both benefit from it. My body holds you but what happens to me happens to you, too. I thought maybe… you could give me advice on chakra control or something. Surely you have a lot."

The fox gave a deep chuckle. **"More than you could ever imagine…"**

"How about it, then?" Naruto inquired a hopeful look on his face. He knew not to think of a friendship but… "A deal?"

The fox seemed to chuckle again, darkly, sending a chill up Naruto's spine. **"Chakra control, huh?"**

Naruto's eyes widened as red swirled around him. "W-what are you doing!"

* * *

Kakashi suddenly snapped his head up, staring at the blond sitting on the grass a short distance away. Sweat was beading at his brow and his breath was labored. 

Kakashi stood abruptly and moved toward Naruto as Sakura and Sasuke paused in their training. "Kakashi-sensei? What's wrong?" Sakura inquired.

She didn't receive an answer as Kakashi crouched before Naruto, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Naruto."

No response. Kakashi tried harder and jumped, jerking his hand back when it burned and stared as red chakra began to swirl around the boy in a thin layer. With a quick motion, Kakashi slapped Naruto across the face. Naruto's eyes snapped open but instead of crystalline blue, fox-eyes glared up at him.

"Naruto!" Kakashi barked, jerking the boy to his feet. "Snap out of it!"

Suddenly the blue eyes swirled back and Naruto stared at Kakashi before his eyes rolled back into his head and pitched forward. One arm extended to catch the boy as Kakashi set him down on the grass before standing up.

It wasn't thirty seconds later when Naruto sat up with a start and a shout of, "Stop it!"

He blinked, looking around him, noting Sasuke and Sakura staring at him from a distance then at Kakashi standing in front of him. The man obviously wasn't happy. "Up. Now."

Naruto shakily stood on his feet as Kakashi grabbed his upper arm and dragged him a distance away from the other two, out of hearing range.

"What was that," Kakashi demanded as Naruto rubbed his arms.

"I… I just found out about Kyuubi," Naruto whispered quietly, knowing Kakashi probably already knew about it. "And I wanted to see him myself… I asked him for a truce and to help me with chakra control and then I get all this chakra that's not mine!"

Kakashi sighed, scratching his head. "This ever happened before?"

Naruto shook his head vehemently.

"You need to let Jiraiya know."

Naruto froze a bit before nodding, shoulders slumping. Kakashi placed a hand on the boy's shoulder and began to guide him back to the group.

"Naruto, are you OK?" Sakura inquired, stepping forward.

Naruto gave a weak smile. "Yeah… I'm OK."

Sasuke arched a brow, clearly not convinced, but left it for later. He could grill Naruto about it after Kakashi wasn't around.

"Saa… Well, I say that today's training is over with! Tomorrow we'll go on our first mission to see how your teamwork plays out! Be here at 8 AM sharp!"

In a swirl of leaves, the ninja was gone.

Naruto watched him before turning around and his eyes widened when Sasuke and Sakura advanced on him. "OK, buddy, spill." Sakura demanded.

Naruto gulped and took a step back. He needed a way to get out of this… but how? What would Jiraiya do…?

A light bulb went off in Naruto's head as he pointed at Sasuke and gasped. "Sasuke! Is that a hickey on your neck?"

Sasuke recoiled, slapping a hand to his neck as Sakura gasped, whirling to look at Sasuke. "What the hell are you talking about!"

Sakura pried his hand away from his neck, inspecting him carefully as Sasuke panicked. No girl had gotten near him enough to do that!

"There's nothing there," Sakura confirmed, letting go of him as she sighed with relief. Sasuke scowled, turning around to face Naruto. "Just what the hell was that--…"

"…Where did he…?"

"That little punk ran out on us!" Sasuke exclaimed, stepping forward.

Indeed, where Naruto had been standing…

…Was just a dust cloud in the shape of the young Uzumaki.

* * *

Naruto gave a soft sigh as he caught his breath on the other side of the training grounds, crouched on a tree limb. He didn't want to tell them! They might not act the same around him and he certainly didn't want that to happen with his new teammates. 

He was interrupted from his thoughts when he heard a sound in the near distance. Knowing this was training grounds for everyone and also letting his curiosity get the best of him, he hopped off toward the source of the noise.

Landing in a tree at the edge of a clearing, he peered down to see three children his age and a buxom woman standing in the middle of the clearing. Apparently, it was another genin team in training. It must have been one of the ones that passed. And Naruto realized he recognized one of the team members as being that obnoxious dog-boy from his first day.

And it seemed the puppy of the dog-boy had caught whiff of his scent. With a small bark, Naruto realized he had been discovered.

"What is it, Akamaru?" Kiba inquired, head tilting up slightly, not that he could see the dog sitting on his head. "What? Someone's here? Where?"

The woman who was apparently the jounin sensei frowned and looked around. "Whoever is there, come out, please!"

Naruto sighed. He had just wanted to watch… With a small jump, he landed on the ground of the edge of the clearing and waved his hand slightly. "Ano… sorry for interrupting your training. I heard noises and got curious."

"Oh, not _you_ again," Kiba muttered foully. Naruto ignored his attitude and smiled. "You must be one of the other genin teams that passed."

"By 'other genin teams' I assume you're on another one of the passing teams?" The woman inquired.

The blond nodded. "I'm on Hatake Kakashi's team."

The woman's brows rose. "That's the first time Kakashi has ever passed a team in his entire career. You have that Uchiha boy on your team, don't you?"

One could see Kiba make a face in the background. This Kakashi-guy must've been an idiot for passing a team like that.

"Boy…" The woman's brow furrowed. _That blond hair and those whisker marks…_ "Tell me your name."

Naruto blinked and pointed to himself before realizing he was the only one there she could've been talking to. "Ah! Uzumaki Naruto. Yours?"

The woman's eyes widened. _It IS him…_ Despite having been a Chuunin at the time, she still remembered the boy and why he was so special. "Ah… Yuuhi Kurenai. I'm the instructor for Team 8." She gestured to the children behind her.

Naruto turned and offered a wide smile. "Hi! I'm Naruto! What are your names?"

It seemed to not phase him in the least at their appearances, what with one giving him foul looks, one with wide, pupil-less eyes and one whose only visible feature was his hair.

"Inuzuka Kiba," The dog-boy stated. He nodded upward slightly. "And this is Akamaru."

"H-Hyuuga Hinata…" The girl whispered, white eyes darting around nervously, looking everywhere but at him.

"Aburame Shino," Said Shino.

Naruto giggled slightly. "Well, sorry to bump in on your training! I'll take my leave now." With that, the short boy jumped backwards and back into a tree before bounding off.

"Well…" Kurenai started, watching him go. "That was… interesting."

"Yeah, about as interesting as Shino," Kiba grumbled under his breath.

"I heard that."

Kiba gulped.

* * *

It was easy to find Jiraiya. While he was told Jiraiya would've been at the Hokage's tower, Naruto knew better. With a soft landing, Naruto found himself staring at the back of the ero-ninja, who was peeking in the bathhouse. 

"Ero-sennin…" Naruto gritted out in disapproval.

The sannin in question paused in his 'research' to acknowledge the boy standing behind him. "Naruto, I'm glad to see you. How are you feeling?"

Naruto shifted slightly. "Kinda… I have a problem Ero-sennin…"

Jiraiya paused. It was rare that Naruto would come to him saying he had a 'problem'. Deciding his research could be put on hold, since, after all, there were few women at the bathhouse at this time of day, he put away his telescope and turned to the boy. "What is it?"

"I talked to… _him_."

"Eh? I don't follow."

Naruto twitched. "I talked to _Kyuubi_," He hissed, leaning forward. Jiraiya's brows rose as Naruto continued on, relaying his little adventure.

"And then, he just shoves all this chakra into me! Kakashi-sensei got mad and Sakura-chan and Sasuke were trying to interrogate me and what do I DO!"

Jiraiya held up his hands, a frustrated look on his face. "First of all, you have to slow down when you're recalling events. I only caught about half of that. Secondly, why did he do that?"

Naruto shifted, shuffling his feet the best he could in his shoes. "Because I asked for help with chakra control…"

"Why would you do that?" Jiraiya exasperated.

Naruto frowned darkly. "Because no one else _will_ unless it's convenient for _him_."

Jiraiya cringed and looked away. Yes, Naruto could be a lot stronger had he put a little more effort into the boy's training… but… "Why did he agree to that?"

"Because we'd both benefit from it," Naruto replied softly.

Jiraiya sighed. "Look… how about I treat you to dinner? We can talk this stuff over a nice bowl of ramen or something."

"How come we'd never had ramen before?"

Jiraiya paused. "Good question. When I find a good answer, I'll let you know. C'mon."

* * *

It was the next day after three bowls of ramen, a talk with Jiraiya and the first time sleeping in his new room when Naruto eagerly stood in front of the Hokage awaiting a mission to be given to his team. Jiraiya had told him to not get his hopes up because almost all genin started out with D-rank missions. 

So when he discovered his first mission was to retrieve a missing cat, he didn't seem as devastated as say, Sasuke was.

"Hee! That'll be _easy_," Naruto exclaimed, tapping his nose. Sarutobi couldn't help but smile at the boy's enthusiasm. "Then you'd better get going."

As they exited the building, Sakura let out a frustrated sigh. "What kind of mission is THAT?"

Kakashi rubbed the back of his head. "All rookies start out at the bottom and work their way up. Just start out with what you have, perform it adequately and you'll move up in rank." He paused for a moment as he handed out radio transmitters. "We'll use these to keep up with each other's locations. The cat is said to be in the forest on the east side of the village. Let's go."

And all of fifteen minutes later…

Three genin and one jounin found themselves in the forest—one of which, was lazily lounging under a tree with his book in hand.

"This is going to be hard to track a cat in a forest this size…" Sakura muttered under her breath. A giggle broke through over her radio. "What's so funny, Naruto?" She inquired almost indignantly.

"Yeah, right. This'll be a piece of cake," He exclaimed before running from his position into the wood.

"Whoa! Hey, Naruto! Don't just abandon your post like that!" Sakura called out as Sasuke cursed under his breath. The dobe was going to place them right back on step one.

However, it wasn't a minute later when Naruto came walking out of the shrubbery with a few leaves in his hair and holding a tabby cat in his hands with a little red ribbon tied to its ear. "This is it, right?"

Sakura gaped. "How'd you…?"

Naruto giggled again. "I told you! Easy stuff. Let's go back! I want another mission! It's not even noon yet!"

As much as Sasuke didn't like that Naruto got all the action, if you could call it that, he had to admit—if they kept this up, they'd be getting much better missions in no time.

Which was why, four missions later, all in the same day, Sandaime sat in his chair looking over his list. "Well, I can't give you any more D-rank missions."

"What? Why not?" Naruto exclaimed.

"You're completing them all and soon there won't be any more for the other rookies if you keep this up. I'm going to give you a C-rank mission normally reserved for a higher-ranking nin. You think you three are up for it?" Sandaime inquired with a twinkle in his eye.

Sakura gave a cheer as Sasuke smirked. Naruto bounced up and down. "Yes! New mission!"

Kakashi gave an exasperated look. He hadn't done a damn thing all day and those three were still managing to wear him out.

"Report back here first thing tomorrow for your mission," Sarutobi commanded. "Until then, you are dismissed."

With a cheer, Naruto ran out of the building and off to find something that would make the day pass by quicker. He couldn't wait until tomorrow.

End Chapter 5.

* * *

**AN:** Apologies for the rushed feeling in the chapter. I'm getting impatient and wanting to get to the Chuunin exams. As for my lack of updates—I am sorry that I am unable to keep up a regular schedule but I'm not sorry if you're too impatient to wait. I'm having hard times and cannot find the time or the inspiration to sit my ass down at my computer and work on my stories. So _please_ if all you're going to say in your review is "UPDATE SOON!" then don't even bother to review. Reviews are nice but something that takes no more than a second to write isn't even considered a 'review' in my opinion. It's just a couple've words thrown out to let me know you read it and want more. Granted, this fic I'm not having as many problems with as some of my others, but the point still stands. However, f I sound rude, it's not my intention. 

Ah, well, enough of my rant. I apologize once again for the poor quality of this chapter. My brain's been very muddled so everything's rushed, condensed and probably flows poorly for I am an impatient bastard.

Oh, and thank you to those who offered your support on the whole "Naruto being too powerful/whatever" thing. Much appreciated.

And—does anyone else think the current filler arcs are VERY STUPID! Argh!

_Phoe-chan_


	7. Chapter 6 Training and Spirits

**AN: Please be sure to read the notes at the end of this chapter. There are a few important details I wish to address.**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto. But I do have some memorabilia…

* * *

**Child of the Earth**

_Chapter Six: Training and Spirits_

* * *

Sakura frowned as she kicked a stone along the path she took to her team's meeting place. Naruto had adroitly avoided Sasuke and her every time they had tried to confront him about what had happened during training. Teammates weren't supposed to keep secrets from each other, right? So what was Naruto hiding? What could make such a look of panic cross Kakashi-sensei's face like that? 

Come to think of it, why had Naruto been away from the village all his life with such an important person he wasn't related to like Jiraiya-sama? He didn't even have to take the academy exams, not that he would have needed to, but they let him pass with ease. He even seemed to be recognized by the Hokage, even if Sandaime made his best to make sure he interacted with every student he could.

Sakura shook her head. She didn't know what exactly she had witnessed that day but the chakra she had seen… she didn't even know one could _see_ chakra. But that had to have been what it was, that red-tinted heat wave that surrounded the blond boy as he had sat on the ground not but a few meters away.

Sakura sighed and shook her head once again. Her life had gone completely backwards in the past week since the academy exams. Especially when concerning Sasuke. She had to keep reminding herself about what worked and didn't work when dealing with the, dare I say it, 'prissy' Uchiha. Challenging him did wonders. Fawning did not. In fact, now that she had put forth the effort after being established on this team, Sasuke had paid more attention to her than he had to any other girl in the village and most of the other boys!

It was just hard to break old habits and run up to him shouting "SASUKE-KUUUUN!" at the top of her lings upon seeing him.

But, no, she would hold strong! Her inner-self demanded it.

Sakura wasn't surprised when she found herself the first one to arrive. She'd made a point to come early, though the reason why was lost on the way. She glanced around the area and then toward the lake, only to stop short at seeing a figure standing in the middle of it. There was Naruto, standing atop the water, hands together as he concentrated. She watched him for a moment before calling his name out.

"Naruto!" Sakura shouted, walking to the edge of the lake. The blond opened his eyes and looked up before smiling and waving.

"Good morning, Sakura-chan! You're here early!"

Sakura smiled as he walked toward her across the water's surface as if it were solid. "So are you. Training?"

"Sorta. I think it's more like practicing since it comes like a second nature to me. So why are you out here early?" He looked around, not spotting Sasuke in the vicinity.

Sakura gave a half shrug. "I was going to… train or something…" She stated, laughing a little. "Nothing like you, of course…"

"What? This? Oh, you can do this," Naruto snorted, putting his hands on his hips.

"Huh? What? No, I can't. You're above me, Naruto."

Naruto smiled. "I've seen you. You're really good at chakra controlling. I think this wouldn't be very hard for you at all."

Sakura seemed a bit flabbergasted. Yes, she was glad to receive a compliment of the sort, but still… "All right, what's the catch?" She gestured to his feet still treading the water's surface.

Naruto grinned, "The catch is to maintain a constant flow of chakra that balances out with the buoyancy of the water. Otherwise—you'll sink."

"Lovely," Sakura muttered dryly, putting her pouch down. Naruto's eyes lit up as he watched her.

"You're going to try it?" He inquired excitedly. It was like having his own student!

Sakura nodded and put her hands together, closing her eyes and concentrating on her chakra. She had doubts about her ability to learn this so quickly after the tree-climbing exercise, but what did she have to lose?

She didn't think about getting her clothes wet until after she stepped onto the lake's surface. Immediately, she began to sink but felt hands grasp her waist to keep her from sinking. She flushed, mumbling an apology, concentration breaking completely.

"Ah! Don't stop!" Naruto chided, giving her a surprised look. She quickly resumed her chakra flowing, despite it being extremely difficult while she had Naruto holding her up. Her jaw clenched as she closed her eyes tightly, concentrating hard.

"I-I think I've got it…" She murmured under her breath. Naruto began to slowly let go of her as she opened her eyes and looked down. There she was, standing atop the water while Naruto had relinquished his hold on her. She squealed and looked up at him. "I did it!"

…And it was at that point she lost her control and plummeted waist-deep into the water, shrieking at the temperature. Naruto laughed as she scrambled out of the water and onto the bank, arms around herself. "Shit, that's cold!" She shrieked again, rubbing her arms.

Naruto snickered and stepped off the water and onto the land. "Not bad for a first time, but you got too excited."

"Oh, shut up," Sakura scowled before pushing him hard in the chest. The blond stumbled back, lost his balance, and fell back into the water, returning to the surface seconds later, sputtering.

"That wasn't funny, Sakura-chan!" Naruto whined, pulling out of the water. Now he, too, was drenched. Even more so than Sakura.

"It… It served you right!" Sakura retorted, turning her head away from him as she folded her arms and huffed.

"Aww, c'mon, Sakura-chan! You did really well!" Naruto pleaded, trying to get her to look at him. She wouldn't, but if one could've seen her face, they would've seen a smile creeping across it.

* * *

Sasuke showed up about thirty minutes later. Kakashi showed up… …about four hours later. He opened his mouth to make an excuse for his tardiness when he realized that his team seemed to not have noticed he had arrived. 

No, in fact, they had ignored him completely.

Kakashi felt insulted.

"Yo!" He called, expecting an accusation about being late, but his team merely turned to regard him, stopping their training. Yes, they were training. Again, Sasuke and Sakura were racing up trees, but this time, Naruto was running laps on the lake, kicking up water as he went. In just a few moments' time, however, the three had assembled before Kakashi, each showing eager looks on their faces.

"I take it you three are ready?"

Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura chorused an affirmation.

"You're prepared to accept whatever Sandaime Hokage will give you?"

There was a slight pause, but the three nodded.

"All right, then! Next stop, Hokage tower!" Kakashi commanded.

"Race ya!" Naruto shouted as he took off toward the tower. Sakura gaped, but Sasuke was quick to take the challenge.

"You're goin' down, Naruto!" Sasuke shouted, taking toward the rooftops after the blond. Sakura gave Kakashi a glance, who in return shrugged and pulled out his book, before taking off after the other two, kicking up dust.

By the time Kakashi had leisurely made his way up to the tower, he found his three students in front of Sarutobi's office. Naruto and Sasuke were in an argument over who arrived first while Sakura was trying to break them apart, unsuccessfully.

Easily, Kakashi grabbed both boys by the collars of their shirts and stepped into the Hokage's office, Sakura walking right behind him.

"Ah, Kakashi… student troubles?" Sarutobi inquired with a hint of amusement on his weathered face.

"Of course not, Hokage-sama! They're just being boys!" Kakashi chirped brightly, depositing the Uchiha and Uzumaki on the floor. Both of them pouted, but other than that, were quiet.

"Excellent. I need them to be on their best behavior to perform this mission adequately. I don't normally give these kinds of missions to genin. Especially rookie genin," Sandaime stated, giving Team 7 a slightly reproachful look. Immediately, the three stood to attention in front of Kakashi.

"This mission will be taking you out of Konohagakure no Sato and into neutral territory. You will be traveling to the village of Saibe, near the coastline. Your goal is simple." Sarutobi seemed to hesitate for a moment. He watched as the three genin leaned in slightly.

Kakashi had a bad feeling about this.

"The village of Saibe is extremely superstitious. They… believe they're being haunted by spirits. They want us to remove the spirits from their village."

As expected, there was silence.

Then, all four of Team Seven chorused, "WHAT!"

Sandaime sighed, and waited patiently for them to settle down. "We believe that someone is pulling some pranks on this little village and we'd like your team to go down there and find the person behind the pranks and take care of it, Kakashi."

Kakashi nodded, taking the folder from the man sitting behind the desk. "Will do, Hokage-sama."

Kakashi turned to his team, using the corner of the folder to scratch his cheek. "Well… you heard the Hokage! Mission time!"

However, Sakura was still staring at him in disbelief, Naruto was blinking and trying to picture what kind of ghosts he'd have to get rid of and Sasuke was watching a spider eat a fly.

…Something needed to be done.

* * *

By the time Kakashi had reassembled his team, it was in the afternoon. Sakura, Sasuke and Naruto all stood before him with their backpacks on their shoulders, awaiting orders. Kakashi stood before them, reading a map. "Hmm… if we leave now… we can make it to…" 

"Sensei?" Sakura's voice had a peculiar questioning tone to it.

"Yes, Sakura?"

"Aren't you reading the map upside down?"

Kakashi paused, before peeking at her over the top of the map. "The distance is still the same no matter how you turn the map, Sakura!"

"…"

Suddenly, the familiar sound of a ninja appearing in the area alerted them to Jiraiya appearing in a cloud of smoke, a notebook in his hand. "Ah, Naruto! Just a few things before you go."

Sakura smiled slightly. It was nice of Jiraiya-sama to come out to wish Naruto off and give him some advice that might help him down the road.

"…And if you see any really hot ladies, please ask them for pictures."

Sakura's train of thought died like bacteria in iodine, along with her respect for the sannin. "What!"

* * *

Naruto looked abashedly over at Sakura as they walked down the well-traveled road, in route to their destination. "I'm sorry, Sakura-chan. Ero-Sennin's just… err…" 

"Special," Kakashi provided helpfully, not looking up from his book.

"Special as in needing mental help," Sakura muttered dryly. Naruto rubbed the back of his head.

Kakashi clucked his tongue. "Now, now, Sakura. Jiraiya is an accomplished ninja and legendary sannin. You should treat him with utmost respect."

Sakura gave Kakashi an exasperated book. "You just say that because he wrote that orange book in your hand and you know it!"

Kakashi's visible eye curved into an arc to signal he was smiling. "He taught Naruto."

Sakura went quiet. Well, he was right there… someone had to have taught Naruto all he knew. It was just hard to believe such a man could teach anything… worthwhile."

Naruto gave another benign smile. "Don't worry! He had a hard time convincing me he was a ninja and I grew up with him!"

Sakura smiled back. _'Well, not everyone could be as respectable as the Hokage,'_ she mused.

Sasuke had remained relatively quiet since they had left the village a short while ago. Well, more quiet than usual. No quips or any dry remarks had left his lips. Much less anything relevant to the conversation. This warranted someone to speak up. That someone was Sakura, of course.

"Ne, Sasuke-kun. You're rather quiet right now."

Sasuke looked over at her with a slightly raised brow. He was always quiet. Duh.

Sakura seemed to read his mind. "I mean, you've not even offered any dry comments, either." Damn, she was good.

"I just don't have anything to say," Sasuke replied, offering a lazy shrug. He didn't, really. He was lost in his own thoughts.

"Oh," Sakura replied, not knowing really what to say about that. "OK, then!"

And to Sasuke's mild shock, she returned her attention to Naruto, leaving him to his own devices. Since when had she left him alone so easily? Was it… Naruto's doing?

Scoffing slightly to himself, Sasuke returned his attentions to himself, missing the amused look in Kakashi's eye as he glanced at him over the edge of his book. Yes, his team was maturing very fast. Perhaps… he'd let them enter the next Chuunin Exams… Depending on how well they did on this mission.

* * *

In a sterile room several miles away, a short man sat in a chair, drumming his fingers on the armrest. He regarded the two figures in front of him with both a certain amount of fear and distrust. "The village of Saibe has requested the help of some Konoha ninja to take care of their 'spirit problems.' 

The two figures remained still, waiting for the man to go on. He obliged, continuing. "I want you to dispose of whatever team they've sent to take care of the issues. I'll pay you handsomely."

The taller of the two figures nodded before disappearing in a swirl of mist. The short man in the chair smirked. _'My plans are running so smoothly that even this little bump will be taken care of easily.'_

Outside, the two figures reappeared and began to walk away from the building. The smaller of the two looked up to the larger. "Why did you agree? We don't need the money."

The taller figure paused a moment before grunting, "You ask too many questions. I haven't had a challenge in a while. I'm hoping that perhaps the Chuunin they send out might provide a little entertainment…"

"Oh, but no Chuunin will be a match for you, Zabuza-san."

The taller man smirked. "Probably not. But here's hoping, Haku."

_End Chapter Six_

_

* * *

_

**AN**: Hokay, a few things to clear up. **First of all**, I didn't want to do the wave arc. It's overdone in fics that are Naruto-centric and well, I don't want to be boring. **Secondly**, this mission takes place before what would have been the Wave Arc. I'm taking a guess that Kakashi's team had been assembled for a good month or two before they received the Wave Country mission. However, in my fic, they've only been assembled a week at most. **And finally**, I'm hoping this mission to only take a few chapters. I really don't know.

On another note, I thank all of you who left wonderful reviews, and accepted my reason for being delayed in my updates and the rushed feeling of the chapters, but mostly; I really wish to thank **"another random guy" **for your review. Your comment on the 'trolls' thing was just really what I needed to hear. Thanks SO much. And thanks for the advice on the battles, though at the moment, that's the least of my concerns when it comes to this fic.

**Again,** please let me reiterate that I've **already** stated my feelings on what **pairings** would most likely take place in this story and how I planned on Team 7 to be relatively **balanced** in their abilities. If you've missed it, you know how to click 'back,' but I'm not going to take my time in answering questions in reviews that already have answers. I'm sorry, but I'm quite busy. And I apologize for not taking time to put in Sakura and Sasuke's reactions to Naruto's blunder with Kyuubi. I really planned on putting it in there, got ahead of myself and left it out. I hope this chapter can rectify that mistake a bit. Also, I'll attempt to slow Sakura's transition down a bit, but it's hard to work with someone who has two personalities and I want both of them to cream Sasuke in the face…

As always, thank you to those who take a few minutes of your time to read my Author's Notes. You've no idea how much I appreciate you. (Yes, you. Not it. YOU!)

Finally, we're bordering **200 reviews** for this fic and all I can say is… WOW. Thanks so much, you guys! I'm so glad you like reading this because I love writing it! Even if I'm slow… It's coming up end of the semester so I'm rushed. I hope this will hold you guys over until winter break. Oh, yeah, this is also un-edited because I'm in a rush to get this up and get back to my homework. Sorry!

_Cheers!_

_Phoe-chan_


	8. Chapter 7 Puddles and Battles

**Warnings:** Puddle Abuse and lapse in sanity on Kakashi's part.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto. Also, no puddles were harmed in the making of this chapter.

* * *

**Child of the Earth**

_Chapter Seven: Puddles and Battles_

* * *

It was getting a bit boring now that it was midday. Sakura and Naruto had quickly run out of things to talk about and both were struggling for conversation topics. Sasuke and Kakashi could easily stand the silence but Sakura was a talker and Naruto always had questions… 

However, he quickly learned that, unlike Jiraiya, Kakashi would answer Naruto's questions as vaguely as possible, leaving the boy wondering what exactly he'd asked in the first place.

Furthermore, 'How many suiton jutsu do you know?' is not a yes or no question, thanks.

Sighing to himself, Naruto figured he'd move on to something he'd been planning on doing. Shuffling about in his backpack, the young blond let a pleased sound escaped his lips when he found the item he was blindly groping for under the flap. Pulling out a scroll, Naruto held it out in front of Sakura.

The young kunoichi blinked, staring down at the scroll being offered to her. "Huh? What's this?"

Naruto beamed at her, gesturing for her to take the scroll. "A present! Well, sorta."

Confused, Sakura took the scroll and opened it, staring at the contents. "This is… an ijutsu?"

"Yup! It was a gift to me, but I have no talent for anything medic-related, really. Medical ninjutsu requires an insane amount of chakra control and brains. While I can do it… it's impractical for me. I don't need it."

Sakura again looked confused, wondering why Naruto wouldn't need something valuable as this. "Are you sure…? I mean, if it was a gift…"

"Positive. Baa-chan would love to see it put to good use."

A wide smile broke out on Sakura's face as she scanned the contents of the scroll again. This was going to be fun. She could just tell.

Beside her, Sasuke slowly felt the beginnings of jealousy seep into him. Why did Sakura get a scroll and not him? Why was Naruto playing favourites? Wait, why did he care? It was a medic jutsu, after all. Lame.

Kakashi watched the interactions between his students quietly. If Sakura could really master a beginning medic jutsu, then he'd have to see about getting her some more of those. Medics were hard to find and good medics were even harder. Plus, he could get her to rub his back down whenever he had problems—

Bad Kakashi. Baaaaad.

* * *

A puddle. 

A muddy rain puddle in the middle of the road.

A muddy rain puddle in the middle of the road, directly in Naruto's path.

It demanded to be jumped in.

And who was Naruto to ignore its demands?

With a squeal, Naruto made a bee-line to the puddle and jumped, both feet landing in the middle of the waterhole. He giggled as water splashed and soaked the hems of his pants. He jumped one more time for good measure.

And stopped when he heard an "oof!"

Blinking owlishly, Naruto stared at the puddle he stood in, before turning back to his team. "SENSEI! This puddle just talked!"

Sasuke arched a brow, while Sakura, nose buried in her scroll, didn't spare the blond a second glance. Kakashi raised his brows in amusement. "Is that so? What did it say?"

"OOF!"

"And what should we do about that?" Kakashi further inquired, visible eye curving into an arc to signify he was smiling.

"DO IT AGAIN!" Naruto shouted with glee, raising one foot and slamming it down in the puddle again. This time, the strangled cry emitting from the puddle was heard by all.

"My, that puddle sounds distressed," Kakashi commented idly.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed as Sakura closed her scroll and tucked it away, nervously pushing a piece of pink hair behind her ear. Her first battle. Her first real battle and everyone else was acting all cool while she was fidgeting. Great.

Kakashi rested a hand on Sakura's shoulder. "Maa, don't worry, Sakura. I'll always protect you."

Sakura looked up at her sensei to respond, but stopped short when Naruto shouted as the puddle exploded, water going everywhere and creating a nice diversion as two figures leapt out of the spray, heading straight for Sakura and Kakashi, the latter pushing the former out of the way as a bladed chain wrapped around him. With a sharp tug, Kakashi was ripped to shreds.

Of course, what hit the ground was nothing but chunks of wood. Sasuke took a split second to wonder where Kakashi got those nicely cut logs to switch his body with before charging at the closer of the two ninja. Leaping up, he avoided a direct attack and landed on the shoulder of the ninja whose hitai-ate was that of the Mist. A swift kick to the head caused the ninja to lose balance as Sasuke whipped out a kunai and threw it, catching the man's shoulder. He grunted, reaching behind him to pull it out as Sasuke quickly formed the seals for his katon jutsu. Inhaling sharply, Sasuke released his breath through his mouth, forming a large ball of fire that sailed straight toward the Mist ninja.

It was met with a blast of water and resulted in a lot of steam, fogging Sasuke's vision. Scowling, the young Uchiha squinted, looking around for his opponent. He felt a presence behind him and turned to see Naruto rush past him and into the steamy haze.

"You idiot!" Sasuke called, only realizing too late he'd given away his position. Scowling, he quickly dove to the right as a claw came down where he had been standing. Where were Sakura and Kakashi, anyways? And what the hell was Naruto doing?

Naruto had immediately realized that the ninja of the Mist relied on, well, mist and fog to conceal their presence. Naruto also knew that his olfactory senses were sharper than anyone else in his team. Therefore, it was only logical for him to charge straight into the steam.

Except, it was kind of hot, being steam and all. And, well, the steam happened to be fogging his senses a bit. No pun intended, of course.

However, he managed to dodge a blow aimed to cleave his head off and flipped back, landing on all fours. Cutting his eyes to the left, Naruto leapt again and tackled his opponent to the ground, quickly moving away before the large claws could clip him. He whirled around to attack the person behind him when the familiar scent of strawberries assaulted his senses. He skidded to a stop in front of Sakura who froze, kunai in front of her and eyes wide. "N-Naruto?'

The whizzing sound of metal cutting through the air made Naruto snap back to attention as he grabbed Sakura and jumped, moving out of the way of any oncoming attacks.

Two thuds later, he turned to see Kakashi standing in the slowly fading mist, one of the foreign ninja in each arm, Sasuke standing a few feet away and looking a bit surprised.

"Sorry it took me so long, guys. Got something in my eye." Problem was, he seemed all too cheerful while saying that…

Naruto frowned, gently easing Sakura onto her feet and once assured she had her own footing, walked up to Kakashi. "Sensei… who are they?"

"They appear to be Chuunin from Kirigakure. Why they're attacking us, I'm not sure. After all, this is a C-rank mission. Our job is to wheedle out some ghosts, not take out foreign ninja."

"Perhaps they're rogue ninja," Sasuke commented quietly.

"That's almost certain, but I want to know why they attacked us." Kakashi's brow furrowed. "But first, we need to get Naruto's wound taken care of. The claws these guys using are poisoned and I, unfortunately, didn't act quick enough to stop you from getting cut by them."

Sure enough, there was a cut on Naruto's hand, not very deep, but deep enough to be of some concern. "Aha… I thought you wouldn't notice…" Naruto murmured sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head with his unscathed hand.

Sakura worried on her bottom lip. If she was able to learn jutsu really fast like some people, she'd be able to heal Naruto's hand. Maybe even extract the poison herself! However, Naruto didn't seem very concerned.

"Naruto, just because you want this mission to succeed doesn't mean we should ignore your injuries," Kakashi started only to stop when Sakura stepped between Naruto and himself and took Naruto's hand, inspecting it.

"I'm sorry, Naruto. I haven't learned the jutsu you gave me so I can't heal your wound," Sakura mumbled, hanging her head. Naruto stared at her, then glanced down at his injured hand in Sakura's.

"It's OK, Sakura-chan. I'll be fine," Naruto assured trying to ease his hand out of Sakura's without drawing attention to the action. However, Sakura looked up and stopped, her breath catching as a strange expression passed over her features.

Kakashi watched with a fairly passively expression as the cut on Naruto's hand sizzled and slowly began to close. After about a minute, all that was left was a thin, pink line.

Sasuke stared with awe as Sakura slowly let go of Naruto's hand. "What… how… what?"

Naruto quickly fumbled for an explanation that didn't sound too far-fetched, but Sasuke beat him to the punch. "Is that some sort of clan specialty or kekkei genkai?"

Naruto gave a weak smile. "Something like that…"

After all, he was the only Uzumaki alive, so in a way, it was clan-specific. Or rather, just Naruto-specific.

Prying his wrist out of Sakura's grasp and inevitably snapping her out of her stupor, Naruto shifted and looked up to his sensei. "What next, sensei?"

"An excellent question, Naruto!" Kakashi replied, happy to change the subject. Sakura and Sasuke seemed reluctant to let it go, now that they had discovered their teammate had some accelerated cell regeneration.

Kakashi made quick work of the two Mist Chuunin, tying them to a tree with some rather complicated (and ornate, Sasuke thought) knot work. "Saa… I don't suppose you two would tell me who you work for, now would you?" He tried.

No response.

"Hmm… What was your mission?" Kakashi tried again, rubbing his chin.

Again, no response.

"Tricky fellas, aren't you?"

"Uhm, sensei. I think they're unconscious."

"Excellent deduction, Sakura," Kakashi replied without missing a beat. Sasuke sighed. Sometimes, the man seemed really capable. Other times, he wondered if Kakashi was really all there…

"Oh, wow! I can see the whites of this one's eyes!"

Same went for Naruto, too.

* * *

"They seem quite capable, Zabuza-san. Especially the masked one. He took out the demon brothers with no trouble at all." 

"That man… is Konohagakure's Copy Ninja Kakashi."

"You know him?"

"I know of him. He's a jounin from Konoha. This should prove very interesting, Haku."

"Indeed."

* * *

Kakashi looked up from his inspection of the two Chuunin and into the forest off the road. _'If this was no fluke, and my gut instinct tells me it's not, then we need to be more careful. I can't turn around now. It's getting late and we're almost at the village. If they send a jounin-level, I'll deal with him.'_

"Saa, ready to continue? We're almost there!"

"You said that an hour ago, sensei," Sakura muttered.

"Yes, but an hour ago, we were only a few meters down the road. We were attacked, remember? Fighting takes up lots of time!"

Sakura gave a flat look.

* * *

"Well, here we are," Kakashi stated, placing his hands on his hips. He glanced down at his three students who were staring at the small town that greeted them. 

With pitchforks and torches.

Sakura shivered and glanced up to her sensei for some sort of reassurance.

"Hey, I think there's a chapter of _'Icha Icha'_ that begins like this…"

Nope, forget it. No reassurance was to be found with one Hatake Kakashi.

_To Be Continued…_

* * *

**AN**: Reason for not updating? Full-time college student, lack of inspiration and procrastinator extraordinaire. Thanks for the reviews! I appreciate them. Especially those long ones XP 

Apologies on the short chapter. I know it's not as long as my normal min of 2500 words but I thought that was a decent place to stop it. And I have… to flee now.

_Phoe-chan_


	9. Chapter 8 Ghosts and Secrets

**AN:** It is unfortunate that in the time it took me to start writing this chapter and the time it took me to finish, I've forgotten parts of what I intended to happen. Hopefully I'm as good of a bullshitter as Kakashi. Full AN at bottom; enjoy.

**Warnings:** OOCness, I fear.

**Disclaimer:** I disclaim.

* * *

**Child of the Earth**

_Chapter 8: Ghosts and Secrets_

* * *

It was perhaps a strange, but pleasant turn of events that led to them all sitting around a table eating with the people of the village. Despite her previous concerns, Sakura discovered that Kakashi was actually a great negotiator. 

Sasuke thought he was just a great bullshitter, but whatever. It got the job done.

Naruto was too happy with the large plate of food in front of him to really care just how they got to where they were. And somehow the food on Kakashi's plate was slowly disappearing, but… he'd not once reached up to remove his mask. A mystery for the ages, truly.

"Ah, so the hauntings began about two weeks ago?"

The village chief nodded, swallowing his food down before trying to speak. "Yes. They normally stay towards the outskirts of the village—near the forest. And anyone who's gone into the forest to investigate hasn't returned."

"And how many people are we talking about?"

"One."

"…Just one?"

"Well, yes. Clearly the spirits are evil and something foul has happened to poor Don."

"…Clearly."

"So we don't wish to risk the lives of any more of our people. And thus we hired you!"

Sakura and Sasuke exchanged looks. Both seemed to think these people were just a tad paranoid. And cowardly. And stupid. Well, OK, so only Sasuke thought the 'stupid' part.

Naruto was still happily devouring food and apparently hadn't heard a word of the conversation.

Kakashi rubbed his chin in thought. "So what's in this forest just beyond the village?"

"Ghosts! Haven't you been listening?"

* * *

Once dinner was finished and Team 7 had been shown where they would be staying, they quietly dismissed themselves to go over some plans on exorcising the ghosts, as stated by Kakashi. Once alone, he turned to his students. "Well, what do you kids think?" 

"I think they're idiots," Sasuke supplied helpfully, depositing his backpack down on the floor.

Sakura hesitated to disagree with Sasuke. "Well… I _do_ think they're being a bit… paranoid. Do you really think there are spirits here, Kakashi-sensei? And if so, how can we get rid of them?"

"Hmm. Maybe. What do you think, Naruto?"

Sakura frowned. Naruto hadn't been listening at all; too busy trying to fill his stomach to pay attention to anything around him. He wasn't going to be able to contribute to the conversation. She expected at best for him to just agree with what had already been said. Sasuke smirked, waiting for the blond to find himself put on spot.

Naruto frowned. "I think they're not telling us everything. Who sends just one person out to investigate something suspicious?"

Sakura's brows rose. So he _had_ been listening. But still, "Perhaps it was bad judgment?"

Sasuke shook his head, "No, I think I know what he's getting at. You've got a small village of superstitious people and then ghosts start appearing. If you're going to check it out, you're going to send a group of people. No one's going to want to go alone in the first place. Plus, I think it's all a joke."

Sakura frowned. "You really think these people would be making this up?"

"No, Sakura," Sasuke looked over at her. "I think someone else is pulling a joke on this village."

Kakashi smiled behind his mask. "That's quite a theory there, Sasuke. But I think it will become much clearer what's up when we check everything out."

"Are we doing that tonight? The sun's almost completely set."

"Not tonight, Sakura. We'll investigate the forest tomorrow. Tonight, we'll scout out the village and see if we can see any of these ghosts. Also see if you can find some information about the forest. The chief didn't seem to be such a reliable source of information."

"It was probably all that sake he'd had," Naruto mumbled.

"But he didn't have that much during dinner," Sakura recalled, thinking back. One or two cups weren't enough to get drunk off of...

"Oh, he's had much more than that," the blond replied, looking over at her. "He reeked of alcohol well before dinner was served. He's probably not been sober all day."

Ah, yes. Naruto's excellent sense of smell. Sakura didn't doubt it was true if Naruto could smell it, and when she glanced to Kakashi, he nodded. "I could smell it as well, though I hoped the alcohol might have made him more loose-tongued rather than slow. Oh well. Gather up your things, kids. Time to go scouting!"

Only one of his three students looked at all enthused about this as Naruto clambered about to get ready. Sakura and Sasuke were much more reserved in their movements, although it wasn't like they were struggling to contain their excitement. And once they were all ready and standing before him like the good little genins they were, Kakashi snapped his book shut to look down at him. "Tonight we'll check out the village then do a quick sweep of the border. We won't venture into the woods until tomorrow while it's daylight. Any questions?"

"What do we do if we actually see any of these alleged… ghosts?" Sasuke inquired, sounding quite skeptical of the entire ordeal.

"Ah! A good question, Sasuke. I would recommend testing to make sure it's a ghost."

"How would we do that?" Sakura wondered if there was some special jutsu to use.

Kakashi stared at them. "You know… throw something at it, see if it's solid. That kind of thing."

'_So much for that special jutsu.'_ Sakura sighed and moved past her instructor. "Let's just get this over with."

Kakashi called after her, "That's the spirit, Sakura! Show your teammates how seriously you take your job!"

One of these days, she was going to punch him. And it was going to _hurt_.

* * *

Naruto slinked along the village buildings, looking for anything out of the ordinary. The dim lighting from the lanterns was good for casting creepy shadows, and once he'd been mistaken for a ghost himself (and subsequently had a flower pot thrown at him), but so far nothing out of the ordinary had been spotted. In his line of sight was Sakura, who wasn't as much slinking as she was just wandering around. Come to think of it… why was he slinking anyway? Could you even sneak up on ghosts? 

He turned a corner to see Sasuke atop a roof, looking around.

And he had no idea where Kakashi was. Sniffing the air, he found it hard to locate the jounin's scent. Frustrated, he tried harder and just as he'd located that faint trail that was indeed his instructor—he heard Sakura's voice.

"Kakashi-sensei!!!"

His head jerked up and he took off in the direction of his teammate's voice, leaping over a pile of firewood and ducking under some hanging ropes. Rounding a building, he came upon her about the same time as Sasuke did, who'd reached her by roof-hopping. She stood at the edge of the village, pointing out towards the woods. Naruto noted that fog seemed to have rolled in at some point, hovering above the ground a few feet and making it very hard to see.

However, he trotted up beside her and looked out to where she seemed to be staring, he saw them. Four figures seemed to be moving awkwardly towards the outskirts of the village. Their features weren't very defined, but they looked fairly solid.

"Don't really look like ghosts to me," Sasuke muttered.

"But… _what_ are they then?"

Sasuke shrugged. Taking Kakashi's advice (for once), he looked around, spotted a decent-sized rock and picked it up. Testing its weight in his hand, he smirked, took aim, and pitched it at the closest figure. The rock was dead on target; however, it sailed right through the being's head. In response, the figure seemed to lose form and melt down into the mist, and quite possibly, the ground.

"What the hell?" Sasuke muttered. "Is it really a ghost?"

"Ghosts don't melt," Sakura hissed. "It has to be a jutsu!"

Naruto was crouched low to the ground, sniffing out for a scent of some sort. Sasuke watched him before reaching over and smacking the blond in the back of the head. "You're not going to be able to smell them, idiot."

Naruto grimaced, rubbing the back of his head, "Didn't hurt to try…"

"Ah! I see you found the ghosts!"

That voice was much too cheerful and Sasuke swore their sensei had no sense about him at all. Turning, he saw the jounin walk up to them, a slouch in his posture and the ever-present orange book in his hand. "Looks like we've got ourselves some mist bunshin."

"What? Mist bunshin?" Sakura echoed. "How many types of bunshin are there?"

"Lots. I heard someone in Kumogakure recently created a cheese bunshin. But that's not important right now."

Sasuke made a face. Who in their right mind would make a cheese clone? However, Kakashi's next words snapped him to attention. "Usually, mist clones are a technique used by the hidden rain ninja, but I really don't think we're dealing with hidden rain ninja."

"What do you think we're dealing with, then?" Sakura inquired, shifting as the creepy figures approached the outskirts of the village.

Kakashi didn't answer, instead walking out past the boundaries that defined the village and right up to the three clones that seemed to hover before him in the mist. Pushing his hand into one, he watched it disperse, and did the same for the remaining two. Humming in thought for a moment, he nodded, then turned around and walked back to his students. "I believe we should call it a night. We can inspect the forest come daylight."

"Do you think we'll find anything in the daylight? If they're mimicking ghosts, then all the activity would be at night, right?" Sakura frowned.

"They want people out of this forest for some reason, and these villagers are much too scared to go even in the daylight, especially now that one of their own has turned up missing. I believe we will still find answers when we search tomorrow. Now, let's go back. I don't think we'll see anymore 'ghosts' tonight."

With that, he turned his students around and nudged them back towards the village.

* * *

"Ne, Zabuza-san. Why did you still send out the mist clones if you knew they'd see through it?" 

Leaning against a tall tree, the man in question stared at the village in the far distance as the mist slowly dwindled away. "I want them to find us."

"Ah! I see. Zabuza-san seeks a challenge, yes?"

"Something like that. Let's go, Haku."

"Yes, sir!"

* * *

Naruto had disappeared when they'd gotten back to their room and still had not returned once Sakura was finished cleaning up for the night. Blinking, as she stepped out into the room where Kakashi was reading and Sasuke was sorting through his things, she looked around. "Where did Naruto go?" 

Kakashi waved his hand in a manner that suggested he probably knew but couldn't be bothered to answer, while Sasuke shrugged. "Don't know. Maybe he wanted to sleep in a tree?"

Sakura looked a little disturbed at this thought, despite the fact they had found him in trees before. Sighing, the girl put away her things before walking to the door. "Well, I'm going to go find him."

And she wasn't surprised when neither of the other two in the room seemed to care.

* * *

Naruto had discovered the roof of the building they were staying in was actually quite comfortable. At least, to him. He sat Indian style, hands resting on his ankles and his _geta_ removed, balanced on the peak of the sloped tiles. He always would be one to discard his shoes if he could get away with it. 

The air was warm and humid, but pleasant. The strong scent of water filled his nostrils, and he wondered if there was a river or lake nearby. Of course, there would need to be some source of water for this village to survive off of, but he hadn't seen anything when they arrived. Perhaps in the woods or beyond? He would have to check tomorrow if he had time.

But for now…

'_Ne, Kyuubi.'_

_**What, brat?**_

'_Can we work on chakra control sometime soon?'_

_**Tch. Eager brat, aren't you?**_

'_Hey! It was a deal, remember?'_

_**A pathetic one. Your company leaves much to be desired.**_

'_And your chakra got me in trouble last time. So we're even.'_

The blond frowned when he heard a deep rumble deep within him, which he assumed was the fox laughing.

_**You've got some guts, kid, trying to make a deal with me. Or maybe you're an idiot. One day, it's going to backfire on you. And I'll be laughing.**_

Naruto smiled weakly, looking up at the stars. "What makes you think I'll let that happen?"

Another rumble. _**Big words for a brat like you.**_

The blond's brow furrowed, "Do you have to be--" "Naruto?"

He stopped, and it was then he realized he had, at some point, switched from speaking in his mind to speaking aloud. Blinking, he glanced over to see Sakura pulling herself up onto the roof. He hoped she hadn't heard much. "Ah…" He trailed off for a moment, before greeting her awkwardly, "…Hi."

With a soft 'hup' the girl pulled herself up beside Naruto and looked around. "Who were you talking to?"

He could feel the fox's presence drift back into the recesses of his subconscious, lingering momentarily before disappearing all together. He could've sworn he heard another deep rumble. He was only glad Sakura could not hear it as well.

"I uh… was talking to…" He stumbled for words, trying to find an excuse that would fit, that didn't sound too outrageous, that she would believe, _anything_ that wasn't the truth. Unfortunate though it was Naruto just wasn't adept at telling lies. Ducking his head, he stared at his feet. "…S'a secret."

"A secret?" Sakura echoed, lips pulling into a slight frown. She looked around, but saw nothing that would indicate someone had been there a moment ago. "It's not something you can tell me?"

The blond shook his head, still staring at his feet. She might react badly. He didn't want to think of her as judgmental or shallow, but the fear was there. He wanted to fit in, and this would work against him if he told.

"So you're a mental case with multiple personalities and that's the reason you were sent away from the village until now." The voice that spoke was most certainly not Sakura and Naruto jerked his head up and around to see Sasuke standing behind him, a dark brow arched dubiously.

Dumbfounded, Naruto could only respond with a bemused, "What?"

"Well, it would make sense. Sakura hears you talking to someone, there's no one out here. You claim it's a secret and you grew up outside of the village and pretty damned sheltered to be as dumb as you are. My guess is multiple personalities or paranoid schizophrenia. And they thought you were better so they sent you back to Konoha, only you're not better."

It was by this point that Sakura's eyes were wide with shock and Naruto's mouth was hanging open. Neither could tell if he was being serious or joking.

And that was a scary thought.

After a moment of staring from both his teammates, Sasuke sighed and rolled his eyes. "I'm not serious, idiots. Geez. You act as if I'm not capable of making jokes."

Without even thinking, Sakura replied, "We didn't think you could." When she realized what she said, she slapped her hands over her mouth as a brilliant blush stained her cheeks. _'Smooth, Sakura. Real smooth,'_ She thought.

Sasuke gave her a look before plopping down on the roof before her and Naruto. "But seriously. I doubt any secret you have is too bad to tell. You're just being stupid, as usual."

By this point, Naruto was frowning, looking highly insulted. "Don't you ever have anything _nice_ to say?"

Sasuke opened his mouth, paused for a moment to think, then smirked. "No, I don't."

Pouting, Naruto looked away. "Well, I'm not telling because you're a jerk." Standing up, he grabbed his shoes and began to walk to the edge of the roof.

"Wait, Naruto!" Sakura started, before rounding on Sasuke, "Great, just great. Now because you're so insensitive, he's going to go off and sulk for a while. Can't you be a little more considerate?"

"I'm still here, you know."

Sakura paused, looking over at Naruto, who gave her a dry look. She smiled sheepishly before turning to Sasuke. "Don't you want to know what he has to say?"

"Not really. It's probably something stupid anyway. Like he has an imaginary friend."

"Sasuke-kun!"

Naruto's brow twitched. "No, I don't."

"Then I was right about the multiple personalities?"

"No!" Naruto hissed out, now visibly irritated by Sasuke's antics. "It's serious!"

"Schizophrenia is serious," Sasuke quipped.

And that was the last straw. Visibly shaking with barely suppressed rage, the blond glared over at Sasuke, and the Uchiha felt rooted in spot when red eyes with cat-like slits were staring him down. Despite his earlier desires of not wanting to scare Sakura, or to have her judge him, he now wanted them both to know. To know it wasn't something to joke about. He wanted to put Sasuke in his place. He wanted to _scare_ him. He wanted to be feared, he wanted to…

_**Show him you're better.**_

Yes.

_**Show him you're stronger.**_

Yes!

_**Hurt him.**_

…What?

Naruto froze, eyes going wide as he blinked at his two teammates, who were staring right back at him. The red receded from his eyes and his thoughts cleared, and suddenly the most shameful expression spread across his features. The poor boy looked like he might cry.

Sakura watched him fall back down into a sitting position and scrambled over to him, pausing for a moment before pulling him into a hug. The blond let her, turning his face into her shirt. "M'sorry…"

Awkwardly, the girl petted his hair as she glanced over at Sasuke. "Don't apologize. We shouldn't have pressed you on it. You don't have to tell."

Sasuke looked back at her before glancing away. Sakura's gaze said it all. _'This is your fault.'_

It seemed his attempt to get Naruto to spill his secrets had failed. But what had been up with his eyes…? And what he'd felt… bloodlust?

He glanced back at the boy who was now clinging to Sakura like a child would to his mother.

That couldn't have been right.

Down below inside the lodging, Kakashi turned a page in his book, glad he hadn't had to step in.

_To Be Continued…_

* * *

**AN:** I… have no idea what I just wrote. I do believe it's the most OOC chapter thus far in this story. I don't even LIKE it all that much but the story wrote itself and I have no idea what to write in its place, and I've forgotten some of my original ideas, so… here you go. I am so truly sorry. 

And an apology is also in order for taking so long to update. So… sorry about that, too.

**For those of you who want a sneak peak**—I have posted a small snippet from a later chapter of CotE on a critique forum that I run. I will most likely not use it when I get to that chapter, but if you wish to read it, there will be a link in my profile.

**For fanart-goers**, I intend to soon post some sketches of my design for CotE Naruto. Check my profile periodically for a link. (:

And… I had more to say, but I forgot it. Oh well.

Thanks for the reviews. They're always welcome and appreciated, even if I can't reply to them all.

_Phoe-chan_


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